Skip to Main Content
live chat

Business and Management at Webster University Library

This research guides provides databases, search tips and resources for getting started with business and management research. A guide for your specific program or major may be available on the Getting Started tab on the navigation menu.

Finding scholarly journal articles

To get a sense of the available research, you may want to start with a multidisciplinary article database such as Academic Search Premier or Business Source Complete (for management and business).  Then, you may want to do a more thorough search in additional specialized sources--see the link below.

Is it scholarly or popular?

A table showing the difference between a scholarly and a popular article. For the text, click the Word document below the graphic/image

The peer-review process

A table showing the peer review process. For the text, click the Word document below the graphic/image

Anatomy of a scholarly article

A scholarly, journal article is commonly a research study or in-depth literature review of a topic. 

A table showing the anatomy of a scholarly article. For the text, click the Word document below the graphic/image

Checking to ensure that an article is scholarly

1. Use a limiting tool in the database if available

 An image showing the part of the Refine Results column where you can select Full Text or Scholarly Journals only.

2. If the title of the publication is clickable in the database, you can find a simple answer

An image showing the description and metadata of a result article, highlighting the area where it shows the result is peer-reviewed.

3. If you're still not sure...ask a librarian!

Pro tip: Scholarly publications might contain letters to the editor, opinion pieces, and book reviews that aren't technically research articles. If you're in doubt, ask your instructor for clarification.