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Course & Subject Guides

MEd in Curriculum and Instruction

This guide is designed as a resource for students in the MEd in Curriculum and Instruction program

What Makes Information "Scholarly" or "Academic"?

Instructors often ask students to find “scholarly”, “academic”, or “peer reviewed” sources of information for their research.  These terms all refer to the same type of information – sources based on in-depth research, and are considered higher in quality and more reliable for your research.   These sources can range from chapters within books or entire books, or journal articles, but all have common characteristics that can help you recognize that type of information.

Peer Reviewed versus Scholarly

While all Peer Reviewed writing is Scholary in nature, not all Scholarly writing is Peer Reviewed.  

Peer reviewed sources are scholarly articles and books that have undergone an additional evaluation process in which editors, peer reviewers and other expert scholars critically assess the quality and scientific merit of the article/book and its research before it can be published.  The reviewers are selected because they are experts on the knowledge and research in their field and their thorough readings and critical reviews help verify that the research is valid and the researcher’s conclusions are not only sound but also important.  Because of this extra evaluation of the research, peer reviewed (also called refereed sources) sources are considered the gold standard for research and dissertation level literature reviews.

While you might use other scholarly sources in your research, you will find that peer reviewed information sources are what your advisor and dissertation committee want you to rely on the most.  How can you tell if an online journal or article is from a peer reviewed source?

  • If you have the physical book or journal, you should find a list of the peer reviewers identified in the first few pages of the publication.
  • Most databases will offer an option to limit your search results to peer reviewed or scholarly sources. In PITTCat, that limiter is in the Refine menu on the left of the results screen.
  • For articles you get online, you can search the Ulrich’s database to find out if that journal is peer reviewed.

Scholarly Sources

  • Produced by experts or researchers in a specialized field or discipline.
  • Purpose is to present new or unpublished research.
  • Majority of publications reviewed by experts for scholarly content or quality, or peer reviewed
  • Written using formal language and structure: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, footnotes, endnotes and/or bibliography.
  • Articles always cite source information.
  • May have plain appearance, and title may include "Journal", "Transactions", or "Quarterly"
  • May include tables or graphs to support research.
  • Very little advertising

General Purpose publications

  • Designed for a broad segment of the population.
  • Articles written in informal tone and often unsigned.
  • Usually read for entertainment or to keep up with current events.
  • May have a bright cover with glossy pictures.
  • Lots of advertising.

 

Trade or Professional publications

 

  • Provides information of use to a particular industry.
  • Articles are not peer reviewed.
  • May have a bright cover.
  • No specific format.
  • Articles sometimes unsigned.
  • Advertising is used to appeal to those in the field.