Is It a Scholarly Journal?

WHAT ARE THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLE?

• Is the article divided into sections with headings such as those listed below?

  Introduction Theory or Background Methods Discussion

  Literature review Subjects Results Conclusion

• Is there an abstract (summary) at the beginning of the article?
• Is the tone of the article thoughtful, restrained and serious?
• Does the article have footnotes or citations of other sources?
• Does the article have a bibliography or list of references at the end?
• Are the author's credentials listed?
• Is the topic of the article narrowly focused and explored in depth?
• Is the article based on either original research or authorities in the field (as opposed to personal opinion)?
• Is the article written for readers with some prior knowledge of the subject?

HOW ARE THE ARTICLES CHOSEN FOR PUBLICATION?

• Is the journal published or sponsored by a professional scholarly society, professional association, or university academic department?

WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?

• Did you find a citation for it in one of the electronic databases that includes scholarly publications? (Criminal Justice Abstracts, EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts) Read the database description to see if scholarly publications are included.
• Did you use the option on the database search screen to limit the results to scholarly or peer reviewed publications?