Answered By: Reference Librarian
Last Updated: 2014.Aug.14     Views: 73

What class is this for?

The reason we're asking "what class" is because the answer depends on what field of study you are working in. 
But here is a general definition:

A scholarly article or book generally is based on original research or experimentation. It is written by a researcher or expert in the field who is often affiliated with a college or university. Most scholarly writing includes footnotes and/or a bibliography and may include graphs or charts as illustrations as opposed to glossy pictures. In addition, articles that appear in scholarly journals or book that are published by academic presses, are subject to a peer-review process, which means that other "experts" or specialist in the field evaluate the quality and originality of the research as precondition of publication. The peer-review (as opposed to editorial review) process is also one thing that sets scholarly journals apart from journals that may otherwise seem quite similar.

One way to get started searching for scholarly articles is to limit your search to "scholarly/peer reviewed journals" in EBSCOHost and Proquest databases.  Please ask if you need help with this.

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