UMGC Library

Locate and Evaluate Scholarly Articles

Scholarly Articles Defined

Scholarly articles are written by researchers, professors, or students and are published in research or academic journals. Scholarly articles (also known as peer-reviewed or refereed articles) have the highest level of credibility because they have been put through a rigorous system of review as other experts in the author's field of research check the article for accuracy. Because scholarly articles represent high quality research and rigorous review, be sure to include them in your research. You will find a more extensive definition of refereed articles at What Is a Refereed/Peer-Reviewed Article.

Examples of scholarly journals include Communication Education, American Journal of Psychology, and Modern Fiction Studies.

Using Library Research Databases to Locate Scholarly Articles

Why the databases?

The UMGC Library provides access to over 100 research databases containing tens of thousands of full-text scholarly and professional articles, as well as reports, statistics, case studies, book chapters and some complete books in a wide range of subject areas. Using library research databases will give you higher quality, more focused results than you will find by only going to a Web search engine such as Google and Yahoo.

How do I select which databases to use?

In order to determine which database(s) to search decide from what perspective (e.g., business, political, cultural, social, historical, psychological, anthropological, educational, etc.) you want to approach your topic. It is better to examine your topic from more than one perspective in order to gain a well-rounded understanding of it. Then, look for a database that contains resources on your topic. Each database has a description of its coverage: subject areas, types of resources, and date range.

  • UMGC Library OneSearch provides access to scholarly articles, books, and/or other research resources via a single search engine, simultaneously searching a variety of Library databases with a single search.  OneSearch is a good tool for preliminary searching. However, because not all databases are included due to vendor contract restrictions, you will also want to search relevant databases individually to ensure comprehensiveness in your coverage.
  • Research Guides cover a wealth of subject areas. Each guide provides recommended resources including relevant library databases and Web sites, along with research tips and citation help.
  • Databases by Title is where to go if you already know the name of the database you want to use.

How Do I Tell if an Article Is Scholarly?

Different research databases have different ways of showing whether an article is scholarly.

Check the search options.
Some databases allow you to limit your search to scholarly and/or peer-reviewed:

Limiting to scholarly and/or peer-reviewed 

Still not sure? Check Ulrichsweb.
If you find a journal article and you are not sure what type of publication it is from, you can check in Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory (under "U" in the Databases by Title (A-Z). Ulrichsweb does not contain articles, but instead lists information about journals. Enter the exact title of a journal in the search box and hit enter.

Ulrichsweb

In the results list, if a referee's-shirt icon appears next to the journal title, then it is refereed and scholarly. You can double-check by opening the record and look for the word Yes next to the heading Refereed.

 Icon indicating an article is refereed and scholarly

Distinguishing among Scholarly, Popular, and Trade Journals offers more help understanding the differences between scholarly, popular, and trade journals.

Evaluating an Article Based on Its Citation

You can begin evaluating an article--judging whether it will be useful in your research--by examining the article citation in the database.

In the database, when you are looking at the list of articles your search has retrieved, click on an article title to open a detailed record for that article. The detailed record will include information by which you can evaluate the article:

  • Author. Are the author's affiliation and credentials available? If so, do they specify that the author is from a university or other research organization? (Not all databases include this information.)
  • Publication Date. What is the article's publication date? For many subjects, such as information technology or medicine, you need current information. The publication date allows you to judge the if the article is up-to-date.
  • Length. What is the length of the article? If it is just two or three pages, it is less likely to provide in-depth coverage of your research topic.
  • Abstract. Is there an abstract that provides a synopsis of the article?
  • Peer-review. Is the article peer-reviewed?

Here is an example from UMGC Library OneSearch using the search "literary criticism."

 Detailed record for an article

You will notice that the article was published in 2013 and is 18 pages long.

To ensure that the journal is peer-reviewed, you can look it up in Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory. The result looks like this:

 Icon indicating an article is refereed and scholarly

Locating Full Text

When full text is immediately available

Some of the articles you find in library databases are available in full text and can be viewed online in HTML format or in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The link to the full text will be included with the article citation:

 PDF full text

The PDF format provides a copy of the full article as it appears in a print journal. Because it is an exact replication, you know that no text has been altered in the conversion process. To view an article, click on either the PDF or HTML link.

When full text is not immediately available


Check Find It.

In cases where the full text is not immediately available, you may see the Find It button at the bottom of the article citation:

Find It button

Make sure the "full text only" option on the search screen is *UNCHECKED* if you want to broaden your search and use Find It.

After clicking on Find It, you will be taken to an intermediary screen that will direct you to the full text if it is available in another database or from a publisher's Web site:

Get full text


Still not available? Use DocumentExpress.

If the full text is not available you will be prompted to "Request it from DocumentExpress."

 DocumentExpress

You then log on using your MyUMGC credentials. 

The library will then locate the full text and e-mail it to you for free.

Do not depend on DocumentExpress if your paper is due very soon. On average, it takes 1-2 business days to fill article requests, but can take longer.

Evaluating a Full-Text Article

Once you obtain the actual text of the article, you will need to determine if the article is worth using in your research. As you read the article, ask yourself:

  • Audience. Who is the intended audience? Is it too specialized or too general?
  • Objectivity. Is the article objective, or is it biased? Is the article based on fact or opinion?
  • Scope. What is the scope of the coverage? Is the article a summary of published works or in-depth reporting of original research? Does it provide any new information? Is the article based on primary or secondary sources?
  • Clarity. Is the article clear? Is it easy to follow and provide conclusions?
  • References. Does the article contain cited references? This demonstrates that the author's conclusions are based on the work of other experts.
  • Supporting documentation. Are there charts, graphs, or other supporting documentation?

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