Scholarly Journals

Articles published in scholarly journals are written for a scholarly audience. Often you may be required to use scholarly articles exclusively. It is therefore important that you be able to distinguish between scholarly articles and other types of articles.

Some general characteristics are:

• Bibliographies / Works Cited are included
• Footnotes / Endnotes / Internal citations are used
• Original research is reported
• The assumed audience is experts or specialists in the field
• Familiarity with specialized vocabulary and concepts is assumed
• Pictures are usually not included unless they are essential to the content being discussed (such as in art journals)
• Scholarly journals are funded through subscriptions, not through advertisements

Peer Review:

Some journals use a peer review editorial process. Submissions to the journal are read "blind" (without revealing the name or affiliation of the author) by a panel of experts in the field. This panel of peers determines which articles are worthy of inclusion. Peer reviewed journals tend to be the most prestigious of the scholarly journals.

How can I find articles from scholarly journals?

• You need to use an index, which will tell you which journals have published articles on a topic.
• Use a general index (online or print), like Proquest, that covers literature in all fields
• Use a subject specific index (online or print) that covers scholarly journals in a specific field

Reference librarians are available for consultation:

• At the Reference Desk
• By appointment
• Through email / Ask a Librarian Web form
• Through online chat / ALADIN Ask a Librarian

A Reference librarian can help you:

• Determine which index is most likely to lead you to articles on your topic
• Help you determine if an article or journal is scholarly
• Help you determine if a particular journal uses a peer review process