Your professors will frequently ask that you use only peer reviewed articles to support you own work. Peer reviewed articles are found in journals. Your professor may say peer-reviewed journal, research journal, academic journal, or scholarly journal. What is peer review? The Merriam Webster Dictionary describes peer review:
noun
: a process by which a scholarly work (such as a paper or a research proposal) is checked by a group of experts in the same field to make sure it meets the necessary standards before it is published or accepted
For most of your assignments, your instructor may require you to locate information in scholarly research journals (these are sometimes referred to as peer-reviewed journals, or academic journals) How can you easily know the differences between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine? This basic evaluation is a necessary part of the research process, and a means for you to sharpen your critical thinking skills.
Some of the ways that a research journal typically differs from a popular magazine are:
AUTHORITY
Scholarly journal articles will indicate authors and their academic credentials; popular magazines may not always list the author.
CITATION
Scholarly journal articles will include footnotes, endnotes, bibliographies, or reference lists; popular magazine articles very rarely do this.
CONTENT
Scholarly journal articles focus on research; popular magazines focus on current events & topics of general interest, and include lots of ads for consumer products.
PEER REVIEW
Scholarly journal articles are reviewed and fully critiqued by subject experts for research accuracy & importance before being published; popular magazines are not as rigorous.
POINT OF SALE
Where you find publications for sale is a clue. It may be difficult to locate scholarly journals at all outside of research libraries; popular magazines are usually much easier to find.
PUBLICATION
FREQUENCY
Scholarly journals are usually published two or four times a year; popular magazines may be published daily, weekly, or monthly.
Newsweek (Popular Magazine)
*Purpose: To entertain, market, or promote a viewpoint
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice (Scholarly Journal)
*Purpose: To contribute to the evolving body of knowledge within an academic discipline
Click on the links below for Articles 1 and 2. Take a look at each of these articles on adolescent friendship selection. Use the tips above to evaluate each article. Which one is the scholarly article, most appropriate for a research project?
Cast your vote.