Peer-reviewed, scholarly sources
Scholarly journals are published by scholars--people who have the highest college degree in their field--for other scholars to read. Before the article is published, it undergoes a process of peer-review, during which *other* scholar specialists (the author's peers) review the article and make suggestions for improvement. It's a strenuous process, so when something is published in a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, it is considered by college professors to be extremely reliable. Watch this short video that describes the peer-review process.
Here are some clues/characteristics of peer-reviewed articles...
- They are very long in page number, often 5-40 pages
- They have a long list of citations or references at the end of the paper.
- They only include charts or graphs--no colorful advertisements or photographs.
- They have a DOI number (digital object identifier) assigned to them
- They have section headings like...
- Introduction [Strategic reading tip: Read this section to start!]
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion [Strategic reading tip: Read this section to start!]
