Scholarly Articles Online:
To determine if an online journal article is scholarly, look for the following major characteristics:
Determining if a journal is scholarly can be tricky sometimes, especially online journals. Listed below are some of the characteristics of scholarly journals. Another way to evaluate is to find the journal online and look at the submission process. Does it state the article goes through peer-review? If so, then it is scholarly. When in doubt, ask a librarian. If more than one journal is listed with the same name, find the correct journal using the ISSN number (Example: ISSN 0363-0277) which is usually located on the contents page or near the subscription information.
Here are some basic rules for determination:
| Scholarly Journal | Trade Magazine/Magazine/Newpaper |
| Contains Scholarly Articles with an introductory article or letter from the editor | Contains Editorials, Feature articles, Reviews, advertisements |
| Articles contain a summary and references | Usually no references or summary |
| Wrote for a scholarly audience | Wrote for a general audience |
| Journal is published 4-6 times a year | Published monthly, weekly, daily |
| No advertisements | Usually contains advertisements |
| Graphs, charts, and tables | Pictures and photos |
| Longer articles with technical vocabulary | Usually shorter articles written for the public |
| Authors are experts in the field | Authors are non-experts, reporters |
