How to Identify Scholarly Journal Articles

The quick and dirty guide

What is a Scholarly Journal?

A scholarly (or peer reviewed) journal includes articles that are primarily research based. Articles are written by experts in the field and these articles go through a rigorous peer review process before publication. Sources are always cited to give credit to supporting research.

Clue #1: Author Affiliation/Credentials

Clue# 2: The Abstract

Clue#3: Content and Writing style

Clue#4 Bibliography/Reference List

Clue #5: Use Limiters

Quiz1. In a scholarly journal article an abstract is:

a) A piece of strange artwork on the first page.b) A summary of the article usually written by the author.c) A list of the sources cited in the article.

2. Authors of scholarly journal articles are always:a) Experts in their field and usually affiliated with a research institution.b) Professional staff writers or journalists.c) Professional humorists

3. Which of these types of articles is most likely to have a list of references?a) Newspaperb) Magazinec) Scholarly Journal

4. Many databases contain limiters that allow to search exclusively for scholarly/peer reviewed journal articles:

a) Trueb) False

5. The writing style, or tone, of a journal article is:a) Serious - written for researchersb) Relaxed – written for a general audiencec) Just like a newspaper article.

Quiz Answer KeyAnswers are in bold

1. In a scholarly journal article an abstract is:a) A piece of strange artwork on the first page.b) A summary of the article usually written by the author.c) A list of the sources cited in the article.

2. Authors of scholarly journal articles are always:a) Experts in their field and usually affiliated with a research institution.b) Professional staff writers or journalists.c) Professional humorists

3. Which of these types of articles is most likely to have a list of references?a) Newspaperb) Magazinec) Scholarly Journal

4. Many databases contain limiters that allow to search exclusively for scholarly/peer reviewed journal articles:

a) Trueb) False

5. The writing style, or tone, of a journal article is:a) Serious - written for researchersb) Relaxed – written for a general audiencec) Just like a newspaper article!

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