Library Hours
Mon-Thu: 7:45 am - midnight
Friday: 7:45 am - 10:00 pm
Saturday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday: 1:00 pm - midnight
How Do I Decide if a Source is Scholarly?
What is a Scholarly Journal?
Has your professor asked you to use articles from "scholarly journals" in your assignment? How do you know if a journal or magazine is scholarly?
Scholarly journals:
- Are written by and for faculty, researchers or scholars
- Use the language of the discipline
- Are often refereed or peer reviewed by specialists before being accepted for publication
- Include full citations for sources
- Book reviews or editorials are not considered scholarly articles, even when found in scholarly journals
Popular magazines:
- Are written by journalists or professional writers for a general audience
- Use non-technical language
- Are not reviewed by other specialists before being accepted for publication
- Rarely give full citations for sources
| SCHOLARLY JOURNAL | POPULAR MAGAZINE | |
| AUDIENCE | Scholarly readers (professors, researchers, students)familiar with the language of the field | General population with non-technical background |
| PURPOSE | To make original research available to the scholarly world | To provide general information that is either informative or entertaining |
| AUTHOR | Experts in the field with their credentials identified | Staff or free-lance writers; occasionally scholarly writers |
| SOURCES | Bibliography of cited sources documenting the research | No bibliography; names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text |
| PUBLICATION CRITERIA | Peer-reviewed or Refereed | No specific criteria |
| FORMAT | Generally follows a structure including abstract, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography | No specific format or structure |
| APPEARANCE | Usually the same for all articles, minimal advertising, little or no color, graphics used to support text. | Varied formats, lots of advertising, lots of glossy color; graphics used to enhance articles. |