Periodical index refers to a listing of articles published in various journals, magazines, or newspapers. Synonyms for this term include bibliographic index, subject index, and article index. A bibliographic index is a compilation of records that contain information about literature and books. A subject index is a listing of topics and corresponding articles. An article index is a collection of articles arranged by title, author, and subject matter. Other synonymous phrases for periodical index include serials index, periodicals database, and magazine database. These indexes are used by research scholars for referencing, tracing historical data, and determining citation parameters for publishing articles.