ENGL 1002: The Pain of Poetry
Evaluating Articles
Scholarly Journals
Trade Journals
Popular Magazines
Newspapers
Examples
Social Psychology Quarterly
Advertising Age
Time
New York Times
Content
Primary account of original research; In-depth analyses of issues in the field; Articles often include abstract, method, discussion, tables, conclusion, and references
Current news, trends, or products in an industry or professional organization; Statistics, forecasts, employment and career information
Current events and news; General information with purpose to entertain or inform; Analyses of popular culture; Secondary account of someone else's research that may include opinion
Current events and news that may be local, regional, national or international; Ads, editorials, speeches; Primary source for information on events
Language
Academic, technical jargon that uses the language of the discipline; Requires some relevant expertise
Specialized jargon or terminology of the field; Written for practitioners/professionals
Easily understandable, non-technical language; Written for the layperson
Written for a general audience; Understandable language
Authors
Researchers, scholars, professors, etc.
Practitioners in the field, industry professionals, or journalists with subject expertise
Journalists or staff writers
Journalists or staff writers
References
References, footnotes or bibliographies are always included
References in text or short bibliographies are occasionally included
References are rarely included
Rarely cite sources in full
Editors
Journal's editorial board, or if peer-reviewed, external scholars in the same field
Work for the publisher
Work for the publisher
Work for the publisher
Publishers
Universities, scholarly presses, or academic organizations
Commercial publishers or trade and professional organizations
Commercial publishers
Commercial publishers
Example Databases
Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, Sociological Abstracts, Historical Abstracts
ABI Inform, Business Source Premier, ERIC, SPORTDiscus
Readers Guide Abstracts, Academic OneFile, Academic Search Premier
LexisNexis Academic, Access World News, Library Press Display
Source: Northwestern University Libraries
Scholarly vs. Peer Reviewed
Not all scholarly articles are peer reviewed; however, all peer reviewed articles are scholarly. If in doubt, the best way to determine if an article is peer reviewed is to check the journal's website or ask a librarian!
Characteristics of a Scholarly Article
What is Peer Review?
Peer Review FAQs
What is Peer Review?
Peer Review is a process used to ensure the quality of articles submitted to a scholarly journal for publishing. Before an article is accepted for publishing, it is reviewed by both the editor of the journal and a team of outside experts in the field [the authors' peers]. The reviewers, or referees, critically evaluate the soundness of the research and the validity of the findings, and they recommend that the article be accepted, rejected, or revised and resubmitted.
Why do I care if an article is peer-reviewed?
Peer-review provides extra authority and credibility to an article!
How do I find peer-reviewed articles?
Peer-reviewed articles can be found in OneSearch and in the library's databases, and may be labeled with an icon saying "Academic Journal".
Remember, OneSearch and many of our databases allow you to limit your results to scholarly/peer-reviewed only! Look for that filter in all Ebsco databases.
Most of our specialized/subject databases only contain peer-reviewed journals.
How can I be sure that an article is peer-reviewed?
The best way to determine if an article is peer-reviewed is by looking at the journal's website. Do a google search for the journal title and look for a description stating that it is "peer-reviewed" or "refereed" [try the home page or an about page]. Still have doubts? Ask a Librarian!