Scholarly articles, also called academic articles, can be found using databases and cover a wide range of topics and can either be original research or analysis of an issue or topic.
What is a Scholarly Article?
- Written by scholars or experts in the field
- Often peer-reviewed
- Generally present in-depth analysis or summaries of a topic
- Provides citations for all sources used
How Can I Tell if an Article is Peer Reviewed?
- Some databases, like Academic Search Complete or PsycArticles, allow you to limit your search results to "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Articles."
- Consider visual cues. Is the article split into headings like Method, Results, Conclusion? Does the article look professional with little to no advertising? These are good signs it could be scholarly.
- Visit the journal's web site to see if it mentions being peer-reviewed or refereed. If you click the journal title within some databases, it will give you a link to the journal publisher's web site.
- Can't find any information on the journal web site? Look for links referring to submission criteria, or information for referees.
Not all content from a peer-reviewed journal is reviewed. Articles like editorials, book reviews, and letters to the editor are not considered peer-reviewed articles.
Sections of a Scholarly Article
The body of a scholarly article usually includes the following sections, but they could be called something else:
