You're probably doing most of your academic research online, in library databases or on the open web. (Even if not, the tips on this page should still be useful to you.) That's great! But you still need to be careful that you're getting good sources, especially if you're on the open web. Luckily, the internet also makes it easier to evaluate the sources you find. Read on for some specific pointers...
What does "scholarly" mean? It generally refers to work that's the result of formal research, written by scholars in the field for other scholars. Scholarly works are usually peer-reviewed (see the box below), although the process works a little differently for books than for articles in journals. Scholarly works cite their sources thoroughly and can include bibliographies or lists of works cited, depending on the citation style used.
Magazines and scholarly journals are different, although they sometimes cover similar ground. The main differences: peer review and citing sources! This chart from NC State University Libraries will help you distinguish among them.
"Grey literature" refers to literature produced by government, academia, business, and industry outside of the commercial publishing process - things like government agency reports, NGO whitepapers, dissertations, and corporate annual reports. It can involve meticulous research, but doesn't go through the same editing and peer review process that, say, journal articles do. You can still evaluate it like other sources, though! If after evaluating a piece of grey lit, you'd like to use it in your work, (1) ask your professor if they consider it an acceptable source and/or (2) check the citations for leads on other resources.
What's peer review? In a nutshell, experts in a field check an article that's been submitted for publication to see if it meets scholarly standards. Watch this video for a 3-minute explanation of how it works. (Video produced by NC State University Libraries.)
[ Audio Transcript ]
View the slideshow below for tips on searching for peer-reviewed articles in OneSearch and in other major databases. (Click on the arrow on the side to get to the next slide.)
In OneSearch, run your search then click on the "Peer-Reviewed Journals" link on the left side to see only results from peer-reviewed journals.
In an EBSCOhost database like Academic Search Premier, check the box on the left labeled "Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals".
In a ProQuest database, you can check the box marked "Peer reviewed" before you run your search to get only peer reviewed resources back.
Another option when searching ProQuest databases: run your search first, then use the "Peer reviewed" link on the side to filter for peer reviewed articles.
To find out more about a journal: If you're in one of the library's databases, you can usually click on the journal's name when you're viewing an article to learn more, including whether it's peer reviewed. For more, look through our research guide on Evaluating Journals.
To find out more about what other scholars think of a book: If you're looking at a book, chances are it's been reviewed. See our guide to Finding Book Reviews for more information.
...or an article: With an article, looking at other works that have cited it can be helpful. Try searching for your article's title in OneSearch, then clicking on "Cited by" in the lower right corner of the result. You can skim the resources that come up or Ctrl-F within them for your article's name to see if they're citing your article approvingly or negatively. If your article doesn't come up in OneSearch, try that process on Google Scholar instead.
When looking for peer reviewed articles, remember that they're also sometimes called "peer refereed" or just "scholarly" as synonyms.