Scholarly information is based on in-depth research and is considered to be higher quality and more reliable information for your work. Scholarly journal articles are normally either peer reviewed or invited by the editor of the journal. Books, book chapters, and conference proceedings can also be sources of scholarly information.

Some of the common characteristics that can help you recognize different types of information sources are listed below.

Scholarly

• written for professors, students, researchers, or specialists
• written by researchers
• identifies authors and may include institutional affiliations, professional credentials, and contact information
• journal titles often name the subject area and may include terms like "Journal of", "Transactions", "Quarterly", or "Proceedings"
• articles are peer reviewed or reviewed by an editorial board of experts
• articles follow a standard format: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusions, references to cited literature
• may include graphs, tables, or illustrations to support the research conclusions
• uses vocabulary specific to the subject area
• cites other articles used in the research
• usually includes an abstract or article summary
• very little or no advertising

General Audience (Popular)

• written to appeal to a broad segment of the population
• often written by magazine staff writers
• articles may be unsigned
• general editors of the magazine review articles
• no particular format for articles
• may be heavily illustrated with lots of photographs, glossy pictures, and bright covers
• lots of advertising

Trade / Professional Publications

• written to appeal to specialists in the field
• provides information of interest and use to a particular industry or profession
• articles may be unsigned
• general editors of the magazine review articles
• no particular format for articles
• advertising is used to appeal to those in the field

How can you tell whether a journal is peer reviewed?

Check the introductory and descriptive material in the journal or on the journal's web site:

• Does it state that the journal is peer reviewed?
• Does it refer to or describe the review procedure?
• Does it give instructions for reviewers?

Look at the article itself and any "About this article" information:

• Does it include dates the article was Received, Accepted, and Published?
• Is there sufficient time between receipt and acceptance to allow for review and revision of the article?

Limit your search results to peer reviewed sources, if the database includes that feature.

Remember: Not all articles in a peer reviewed journal are actually peer reviewed. Editorials, letters to the editor, news, and opinion pieces, for example, are not peer reviewed.

The links below will offer suggestions for evaluating the quality of the articles you have located in the databases.