Academic, or scholarly, articles are original research conducted and published by subject matter experts of their respective fields. These articles are published in academic, or scholarly, journals with targeted audiences of students, academics, and other professionals within a certain field.
For example, topics on medicine can be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association; women in the Mali empire in the Bulleting of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London).
These databases are your *best bets* for finding academic (scholarly) articles!
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"Academic" or "Research" |
Popular Newspaper & Magazines "General" or "Journalistic" |
| Authors are named and usually affiliated with an institution. | Authors are potentially anonymous. |
| Authors are subject matter experts. | Authors are journalists. |
| Articles are peer-reviewed. | Articles are not peer-reviewed. |
| Citation lists are lengthy and extensive. | Citation lists are little to non-existent. |
| Advertisements are limited. | Advertisements are everywhere. |
| Articles are lengthy and very detailed. | Articles are shorter and focus on general points. |
| Issues are published on a less frequent basis (semi-annually, quarterly, monthly). | Issues are published frequently (daily, weekly, monthly). |
| Target audiences are professionals, academics, and students. | Target audiences are the general public. |
| Titles typically include words like bulletin, journal, or review. | Titles do not typically include words like bulletin, journal, or review. Except "The Wall Street Journal," which is not a scholarly publication. |
For more information, check out the page labeled "Evaluate Online Sources" in the Research Tips Guide for an explanation.
