The clearest and most reliable indicator of a scholarly article is the presence of references or citations. Look for a list of works cited and/or numbered footnotes or endnotes. Citations are not merely a check against plagiarism. They set the article in the context of a scholarly discussion and provide useful suggestions for further research into the topic at hand.
Scholarly articles are sometimes referred to as "refereed" or "peer-reviewed" because they are typically evaluated by other scholars before being accepted for publication.
Some of our databases allow you to limit your search to scholarly articles. This is a useful feature, but it is not 100% accurate in terms of what it includes and what it excludes. You should still check to see if the article has references or citations.
