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Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) & Popular Sources
Comparing Scholarly Journals with Magazines
Articles from scholarly journals, also called peer-reviewed, academic, refereed, or professional journals, are often required or strongly recommended by faculty at the university level for use in writing research papers and projects. This criteria is especially true for upper division courses and is essential in quality graduate work. These are some characteristics that distinguish scholarly journals from other periodicals:
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News, Opinion, or Popular
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Trade
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Scholarly
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Author
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Journalist, freelance writer, editorial staff; might not be named | Staff writers, freelance authors | Researcher or scholar in the field; credentials listed |
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Audience
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General public | Specific industry, trade, organization, or profession; jargon often used | Other scholars, professionals, or students familiar with the field |
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What is the purpose of the publication?
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To inform or entertain | To describe issues, problems, or trends in the field | To report original research, experiments, or theories |
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Are sources cited?
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Sources may be cited or identified, but usually not | Sometimes, usually not | Always have footnotes or bibliography |
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Who publishes it?
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Commercial enterprise or an interest organization | Commercial enterprise, trade association | Professional association or commercial enterprise |
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Appearance in print?
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Examples
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Popular: Hispanic, Jet, People; News or general interest: Nation, Newsweek, Time |
Advertising Age, Progressive Grocer | Harvard Educational Review, Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Science Quarterly, Theological Studies |
Research articles written for scholarly journals are heavily reviewed and revised before being accepted for publication. Guidelines for contributors are usually listed somewhere in the publication. Articles are often anonymously reviewed by several other subject experts; this process is called "peer review" and such a periodical is considered a "refereed journal."
Comparing Scholarly Journals with Magazines was produced by Diane Duesterhoeft at St. Mary's University.
Requesting Articles
You may also request articles that the library does not have available full-text online or in print. In order to do this, you will need the full citation of an article (title, author, journal name, volume number, date, page numbers). Email the citation to me or fill out this request form. Be sure to provide your full name, the email that you want the article sent to, and the date you need it by. It usually takes at least 2 days to receive the article, but it may take longer depending on the article needed. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Requesting Articles VIA Article Reach
- If you find an article that SBU Libraries does not have access to and you see a link to "Request through ArticleReach," click it to send a request for the article.
The screen will look like this:
Or this:
- After you click "Request through ArticleReach," you should see a new page with a form like the one below. In the first field, type your full name (first and last name). In the next field, type the full ID number found on your SBU ID card, immediately followed by the three letter code for our institution--"SBU." Example: 0123456SBU
***STUDENTS, this number is usually the six digits in your student email preceded by a "0." Check your SBU ID card to verify this is your full ID number.
- Once you have filled in the fields with your information, click "Submit."
- Another page will come up with information about the article you are requesting. Make sure this information looks correct--if not, try to fix it.
- In the "Not Wanted if Supplied After," choose the date that you need the article by and click "Submit."
- You should then see a page that says "Request submitted." Click "OK."
- Typically, you will receive an email with the article attached as a PDF file by the date you specified. However, in very few cases the article cannot be obtained or found in a timely manner. Thank you for your patience as our library staff do our best to get you the information you requested!
