Is the article scholarly?
(a) Getting better search results using AND & OR
Top Science Databases
For a more comprehensive list, see Research Guides
- BIOSISComprehensive index to life science and biomedical research
- Compendex (Engineering)The most comprehensive bibliographic database of engineering research available today
- MEDLINEThe premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature
- Pollution AbstractsCovers government policies for pollution, as well as the effects of pollution on people and animals, and environmental action in response to global pollution issues
- PsychInfoScholarly literature in the behavioral sciences and mental health
- PubMedUse in addition to MEDLINE
- ScienceDirectContains over 25% of the world's science, technology and medicine literature
- Web of ScienceThousands of scholarly journals, books, book series, reports, conferences, and more
- IEEEIt covers more than 30% of the world's literature in electrical engineering, electronics, computer science, information science, materials science, physical sciences and biomedical engineering.
Scholarly Articles
Typical features of a scholarly article:
- Length: scholarly articles are longer, usually at least 8 pages, but there is no set rule, and they usually include diagrams, charts, or graphs
- Bibliography: scholarly articles always have a list of cited works
- Language: scholarly articles are written for scholars and not the general public, so the language is specialized and technical
- Authors: scholarly articles are written by experts who usually have PhDs and academic affiliations
Scholarly articles are published in scholarly journals:
- Some databases will allow you to limit your search to scholarly journals, other databases may provide further details about journals such as whether they are scholarly.
- Publisher databases will include information about a peer review process if the journal is scholarly
- If you are still not sure, please ask a librarian.
Just because your article is published in a scholarly journal doesn't mean your article is scholarly because scholarly journals contain the following items which are NOT scholarly:
- Book reviews
- Editorials
- Letters to the editor
- Short news items
If you are unsure about using the information you've found, be sure to check with a librarian or your professor.