Is the full-text article SCHOLARLY?

Look for some or most of these characteristics to determine if an online article is scholarly:

• Author’s Credentials — Often listed at end of article, tell colleges attended, degrees earned, university affiliations, etc.
• Parenthetical references — i.e. (Jones, 1993), and/or footnotes
• Bibliography or Works Cited at the end of article
• Basic sections of a research paper (abstract, method, discussion, etc.)
• Tables, charts, or graphs — Usually show the results of a study or the methods used to calculate results.
• Length — While longer does not necessarily imply scholarly or better, short one or two page articles are not often scholarly.
• Databases such as OmniFile and Expanded Academic ASAP (DISCUS) offer peer-reviewed or refereed options.

Peer-reviewed and Refereed Definitions

• Omnfile defines peer-reviewed as:

“A description of the journal’s peer review process in its instructions to authors or manuscript submission guidelines. OR Notice of an independent editorial review board in the journal’s front matter.”

• Infotrac (DISCUS) provides this definition:

“Refereed journals are those in which articles, before they are published, must be reviewed by a body of peers, experts in the same field as the writer. Peer review does not guarantee that an article is correct, but it does help ensure that data and methodology have met a high standard.”

Last modified on: September 10, 2007, at 10:26 AM