Scholarly articles are sometimes "peer-reviewed" or "refereed" because they are evaluated by other scholars or experts in the field before being accepted for publication. A scholarly article is commonly an experimental or research study, or an in-depth theoretical or literature review. It is usually many more pages than a magazine article.
The clearest and most reliable indicator of a scholarly article is the presence of references or citations. Look for a list of works cited, a reference list, 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.
Many of our databases allow you to limit your search to just 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.
The table below compares some of the differences between magazines (e.g. Psychology Today) and journals (e.g Journal of Abnormal Psychology).
| Popular magazines | Scholarly journals | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference list, citations | no | yes |
| Appearance | flashy cover, photographs, advertisements | mostly text, often graphs and charts of data, few ads |
| Titles | short and catchy | long and precise |
| Article length | short | long |
| Audience | general public | students, professionals, researchers |
| Authors | staff writers, journalists | practitioners, theorists, educators |
| Peer-review | no | yes |
| Publisher | commercial company | educational institution or professional organization |
Peer Reviewed Articles go through a process in which experts in the field (the author's peers) verify that the information and research methods are up to standards. Peer reviewed articles are usually research articles or literature reviews and have certain characteristics in common. This page has an overview on how to identify peer reviewed articles: Recognize a scholarly/peer-reviewed article.
If you are unsure whether or not an article is peer reviewed, you must look at the journal rather than the article. One of the best places to find out if a journal is peer-reviewed is the journal website. Most publications have a journal website that includes information for authors about the publication process. If you find the journal website, look for the link that says information for authors, instructions for authors, guidelines for authors or something similar. On this page is information about whether the articles are peer reviewed.
In an EBSCO database, you will look at the detailed record of the article. You may see this when you click on the article title of a search result. Then look at the Source (the name of the publication):
Go to the library's Digital Content page to look up the journal. You will then see information about the specific journal. Above the journal's title will be an indicator on whether the journal is peer reviewed according to Ebsco's standards:
Other databases may provide the same information using different words or visual cues. If you are still unsure, please give us a call, chat with us, or send us an email and a Research Librarian can help you.
A scholarly, journal article is commonly a research study or in-depth literature review of a topic.
How can you tell if the information you find is trustworthy? Sometimes information can be unreliable, especially when dealing with online sources. If you're not sure about a source, just ask yourself, is it CRAAP?
The CRAAP Test is a list of questions that can help you more effectively evaluate information:
Currency - the timeliness of the information.
Relevance - the usefulness of the information to your needs.
Authority - the source of the information.
Accuracy - the reliability and truthfulness of the information.
Purpose - the reason the information exists in this format.
The CRAAP test was developed by staff at Meriam Library, California State University, Chico
