How to Do Library Research

Scholarly Sources

• Authors are experts in their field, such as scientists,

  

  historians, or holders of advanced degrees.
• Publishers are often university presses or professional associations.
• Language is dense, and may include specialized or technical terms.
• Format almost always includes an abstract; and frequently includes methodologies, results, and conclusions.
• Citations are formally included in the form of a bibliography, works cited page, or footnotes.
• Purpose is to communicate research findings and educate.
• Access is limited to library subscriptions (e.g. SCC OneSearch or A-Z Databases), or Google Scholar. 
  • Note: Book reviews and editorials are not considered scholarly articles, even when found in scholarly journals.

Popular Sources

• Authors are journalists; their names are not always listed.

  

• Publishers can be a media company owned by a corporation with moneyed interests in presenting and suppressing information.
• Language is easy to read, and if special vocabulary is used, it will be defined for the reader.
• Format varies, but does not include an abstract, or formally-labeled sections such as "methodologies" "research" and "conclusions".
• Citations may be informally referenced in the text, but do not follow the guidelines of MLA or APA formatting.
• Purpose is to entertain, inform, and persuade.
• Access is available via the web. Some of these publications are included in library databases. If you hit a pay-wall while researching online, you can click Find Journals in SCC OneSearch to see if we provide access.

Scholarly articles are not always peer-reviewed; peer-reviewed articles are always scholarly.

An article can be both scholarly and peer-reviewed; it can be only scholarly; but it cannot be peer-reviewed without being scholarly.

Scholarly articles, also known as "academic articles," are written by experts in a discipline, and include citations. Their content focuses on research or original analyses, and they are professional in appearance, with no advertisements or unrelated images. Publication requires the approval of an editorial board.  

Peer-reviewed articles are scholarly articles that have undergone a highly-critical and rigorous review process by other scholars in the author's discipline, prior to publication. This process ensures that the article genuinely advances understanding in its field of study, that its research is valid, and that its conclusions match the research data cited within it.

Primary Sources

Primary sources are first-hand or contemporary accounts of an event or topic. They enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during a historical event or time period. 

• Examples include oral histories, memoirs, letters, diaries, meeting minutes, photographs, artifacts, interviews, and sound or video recordings of an event. 
• If a primary source is digitized and made available online, the online version is still considered a primary source.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources add interpretation, analysis, or commentary to an event or phenomenon covered by primary sources. 

• Examples include criticisms, histories, and retrospective articles. They can be useful for understanding how a topic or event is or has been regarded by the media and society, if that information is within the scope of your project.