What are scholarly sources?
Scholarly, peer-reviewed, or refereed sources are often required for academic research. Scholarly journal articles are typically written by scholars, researchers, or experts in a particular field. In the sciences and social sciences, they often publish original research results.
Characteristics of a scholarly journal article:
- Articles are written by researchers and subject experts; the author’s credentials and academic/professional affiliations are clearly identified.
- Most articles are approved for publication by the process of peer review.
- The intended audience is researchers, professors, students.
- Language will include jargon, terms, and/or statistical figures that are commonly used in the discipline. The author will assume that the reader has a certain level of knowledge about the field and the topic at hand.
- The purpose of the article is to report research and scholarly ideas and to add to the body of scholarly knowledge.
- Articles include a bibliography and may follow a strict format (e.g. abstract, research methodology, data, and a discussion of results).
- Journals are usually published by an academic organization, research institute, university, or scholarly press.
- The frequency of publication is monthly, quarterly, semi-annually.
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Take a look at the publication - in databases, you can often click on the publication title to find a profile to determine if it is a scholarly source. If you still are not sure, you can also search for the publication in Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory.
*Note: Sometimes "non-scholarly" materials are returned in results even if you are searching scholarly publications - these may include book reviews or editorials. Be sure to evaluate carefully and check the document type if you are searching in a database.
How to Read a Scholarly Article
Consult the PowerPoint slide deck below for details on the important parts of a scholarly article.
