Ways in which academic / scholarly information sources are distinguished from non-academic popular and professional or trade sources include:
--- intended audience
--- rigor of the pre-publication review
--- level of comprehension needed to understand or
evaluate the content
--- presence of works cited/references lists
Related guide:
Scholarly journals usually are peer-reviewed. A peer-reviewed (or refereed) journal:
- uses experts from the same subject field or profession as the author to evaluate a manuscript prior to acceptance for publication
- has articles that report on research studies or provide scholarly analysis of topics
- may include book reviews, editorials, or other brief items that are not considered scholarly articles
- Anatomy of a Scholarly ArticleExplains key elements from the first & last page of a typical scholarly or academic article. North Carolina State Univ. Libraries
Many library research databases allow you to limit search results to peer-reviewed journals:
Summary of the Peer Review Process
Image by Jessica McCullough (http://home.gwu.edu/~mccull1/peerreview.html); used with permission.
The majority of non-fiction books owned by the library are scholarly, academic works, but there are exceptions. The identity of the publisher is one indicator of whether a book is likely to be scholarly in nature. You may want to look for:
- university presses (Oxford University Press, Princeton University Press, etc.)
- commercial publishers that specialize in academic titles such as SAGE, Routledge, Elsevier, Springer, or Wiley Blackwell (more examples from Colorado State Univ. Libraries)
- professional organizations such as American Psychological Association or National Council of Teachers of English
In addition, look for:
- author credentials
- works cited, references, or footnotes
- formal or technical language specific to the discipline
Use your UHCL ID card to borrow books and other materials.
Use your UHCL username (e.g., jonest1234) and password:
► to authenticate from off-campus for databases and e-resources
► to sign in to OneSearch and renew materials online or request items from other UH libraries
► to sign in to ILLiad interlibrary loan and request items from outside UH libraries