10 Scholarly Articles as Sources

Peer-Reviewed Sources

The most-respected scholarly journals are peer-reviewed, which means that experts in their field other than the author and editor check out each article before it can be published. It’s their responsibility to help guarantee that new material is presented in the context of what is already known, that the methods the researcher used are the right ones, and that the article contributes to the field.

For those reasons, peer-reviewed articles are more likely to be credible. Peer-reviewed journal articles are the official scholarly record, which means that if it’s an important development in research, it will probably turn up in a journal article eventually.

Watch the video and answer the questions below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xHUDaKmN8E

Most scholarly articles are housed in specialized databases. Libraries (public, school, or company) often provide access to scholarly databases by paying a subscription fee for patrons. For instance, Brock University Library provides access to hundreds of databases via its A-Z Databases List that are made available free to people affiliated with the University. For more information, including how to search databases, see Specialized Databases.