Scholarly Journals (Print & Electronic)
- Provide original research and commentary on current developments within a specific discipline.
- Articles are written by scholars or professionals who are experts in their fields; usually written by the person(s) who conducted the research.
- Published by a university press, scholarly society, or an academic association.
- A bibliography or list of works cited is included at the end of the article.
- Intended audience is professionals, researchers, or students in the discipline.
- Not all scholarly journals are peer-reviewed, but all peer-reviewed journals are scholarly.
How to identify scholarly journals:
- By publisher - Is it a university press or academic association?
- By author - What are the author's credentials?
- By content - Is there a bibliography or list of references cited at the end of the articles?
- Consult Ulrich's Global Series Directory that will provide detailed journal information including whether the journal is academic/scholarly.
Peer-Reviewed (Refereed) Journals
- These scholarly journals contain articles that are reviewed and evaluated by other experts in the same field of study before they are accepted for publication.
- Published by a university press, scholarly society, or an academic association.
How to identify peer-reviewed articles:
- Many research databases give the option to limit search results to only peer-reviewed articles.
- Visit the website of the journal which published the article and look for information about the editorial policy, submission process or requirements for author’s submission.
- Consult Ulrich's Global Series Directory that will provide detailed journal information including whether the journal is reviewed or refereed.
- If you still cannot determine if an article is peer-reviewed, ask an SVM librarian.