Identifying Scholarly Articles (2024)

language Website Search

Find information on spaces, staff, and services.

collections_bookmark Database Search

Find databases subscribed to by UW-Madison Libraries, searchable by title and description.

article Journal Search

Find journal titles available online and in print.

description Article Search

Find articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, and more.

collections UW-Digitized Collections Search

Discover digital objects and collections curated by the UW-Digital Collections Center.

Scholarly articles are written by researchers or experts in a field in order to share the results of their original research or analysis with other researchers and students. These articles often go through a process known as peer review where the article is reviewed by a group of experts in the field.

Scholarly Articles

  • It’s not always easy to tell if an article has been peer reviewed. Some databases will help by labeling results scholarly or academic. However, you will still need to examine each article to be sure that it’s scholarly.
  • The following characteristics can help you determine if the article you’re looking at is scholarly:
    • Author(s) name included
      • Scholarly articles are written by experts or researchers, so make sure that the author’s name, along with their institution and scholarly credentials, are included.
    • Technical or specialized language
      • Scholarly articles will often use technical or highly specialized language.
    • Written for professionals
      • Scholarly articles are published in academic journals. Academic journals have titles that suggest they are written for professionals in a particular field of study and not for the general public.
    • Charts, graphs, and diagrams
      • Scholarly articles communicate research results. They will often include charts, graphs, or diagrams.
    • Long ( 5 or more pages)
      • Scholarly articles tend to be long. They are usually five or more pages.
    • Bibliography included
      • Scholarly articles will always include references to the sources cited or a bibliography.
Identifying Scholarly Articles (2024)

FAQs

How can you identify scholarly article? ›

The following characteristics can help you determine if the article you're looking at is scholarly:
  1. Author(s) name included. ...
  2. Technical or specialized language. ...
  3. Written for professionals. ...
  4. Charts, graphs, and diagrams. ...
  5. Long (5 or more pages) ...
  6. Bibliography included.

How do you read a scholarly article efficiently? ›

Reading a Scholarly Article
  1. What is your research question?
  2. Read the abstract first as it covers basics of the article. ...
  3. Second: Read the introduction and discussion/conclusion. ...
  4. Next: Read about the Methods/Methodology. ...
  5. Finally: Read the Results and Analysis.
Mar 8, 2024

What are 4 questions that can determine if an article is a popular or scholarly source? ›

Frequently Asked Questions about identifying scholarly sources
  • The authors are scholars or researchers with known affiliations and credentials.
  • The language used is academic and complex.
  • The article contains full citations to other scholarly sources.
  • Scholarly articles are often peer-reviewed by specialists.

What is the most effective way to limit a search to find scholarly articles? ›

If you want to limit your search to scholarly articles you will want to check the 'peer reviewed' or 'scholarly journals' boxes in these journals before you run your search. To get best results in library search tools break your topic into two or three concepts, such as "foster care AND families".

What are five ways of recognizing a scholarly source? ›

What counts as a scholarly source?
  • Accuracy. The information should be based on verifiable facts. ...
  • Authority. A specific author or team of authors should be listed. ...
  • Bias. The information should be based on fact, not opinion. ...
  • Audience. ...
  • Currency.

What are three ways you can find scholarly sources? ›

How to Find Scholarly Articles Online
  • Searching for Free Articles Online.
  • Using Library Databases.
  • Evaluating Article Quality.

How do you scan and evaluate a scholarly article quickly? ›

How to evaluate a journal article
  1. Step 1) Read the title. ...
  2. Step 2) Read the abstract. ...
  3. Step 3) Determine whether the article is a primary or secondary source. ...
  4. Step 4) Consider the methods used. ...
  5. Step 5) Consider the theories and other research used to back up the author's arguments. ...
  6. Step 6) Look at the results section.
Feb 22, 2023

What are the three major characteristics of a scholarly article? ›

Characteristics of Scholarly Sources
  • Have a serious appearance.
  • The words "Journal," "Transactions," "Proceedings," or "Quarterly," may appear in the title.
  • Written for professors, students or researchers.
  • Signed by the authors.
  • Articles are reviewed by a board of experts or "peer reviewers."

How do you know if a source is credible? ›

That criteria are as follows:
  1. Authority: Who is the author? What are their credentials? ...
  2. Accuracy: Compare the author's information to that which you already know is reliable. ...
  3. Coverage: Is the information relevant to your topic and does it meet your needs? ...
  4. Currency: Is your topic constantly evolving?

What are three 3 main differences between scholarly and popular articles? ›

Articles in scholarly journals (also known as academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed journals) are different from articles in popular magazines for many reasons, including: the publication process, the authorship, the audience, and the purpose.

Which search engine is most helpful for finding scholarly articles? ›

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is undoubtedly one of the popular search engines. With its vast database of scholarly literature, Google Scholar allows users to search for articles, theses, books, and conference papers across multiple academic disciplines.

Which section of a scholarly article is most useful to read first? ›

Start with the abstract which will give you a general summary of the article. If the abstract seems relevant then move to the conclusion or discussion section of the article to gain a better understanding of the article's main claims. At this point if the article does not seem relevant or useful then discard it.

Why are scholarly articles the most credible sources? ›

In all disciplines, knowledge is built by responding to the ideas and discoveries of those who came before us. Scholarly journal articles are unique in that they require authors to document and make verifiable the sources of the facts, ideas, and methods they used to arrive at their insights and conclusions.

What is considered a scholarly article examples? ›

Scholarly articles are published in scholarly journals. Most of these journals are discipline specific. For example if you study microbiology you might want to look in the Journal of Bacteriology. If you study Shakespeare you might look at Shakespeare Quarterly.

What does a scholarly paper look like? ›

A scholarly article generally consists of the background of a research topic, its study design and methodology, the results of the study, and then its conclusion. The scholarly articles or publications used to inform the research are listed at the end of the article as its references or works cited.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Twana Towne Ret

Last Updated:

Views: 6098

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (44 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Twana Towne Ret

Birthday: 1994-03-19

Address: Apt. 990 97439 Corwin Motorway, Port Eliseoburgh, NM 99144-2618

Phone: +5958753152963

Job: National Specialist

Hobby: Kayaking, Photography, Skydiving, Embroidery, Leather crafting, Orienteering, Cooking

Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.