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Introduction to Research Skills: Recognizing Different Kinds of Sources

Recognizing the Different Kinds of Sources

Icon consisting of three stacked papers and the title Academic Journal

Scholarly Sources (Journals)

Scholarly sources are journal articles or books that are written by an expert in a particular field. Scholarly journal articles often, but not always, undergo a peer-review process in which other experts in that field review the article's contents for accuracy, validity, and quality. Books, although they may be scholarly, are generally not peer-reviewed. For more information on how to determine if a journal article has been peer-reviewed, please view the "Is it Peer Reviewed?" section on this page. When you are trying to determine if a source is scholarly, look out for the following characteristics that are common:

  • Specialized and technical language directed at scholars or other experts in the field
  • An author that is an expert in their field (Scholarly sources typically will have a biography or statement listing the background and experience of the author)
  • Contains a full bibliography or reference list
  • The publisher of the source is a university press, professional organization, research institute, or other similar group.

On Central Search, journal articles are marked with the Academic Journal icon shown above.

7 STEPS

1. Welcome to this Central Search Tutorial! We will discuss how to limit a search by source type. First, let us imagine that we are searching for sources addressing the American Civil War (Click the screen to continue).

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2. Scroll down. To the left of your screen, you will see a number of search limiters that you can use to narrow your search. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will focus on Limit by Source Type.

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3. Limit by Source Type allows you to indicate that you only want to see results that are of a certain publication format.

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4. As you can see, next to each type is the number of results that meet this characteristic.

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5. Click Show More

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6. See More will lead you to a complete list of source types applicable to your search. There are numerous source type options that you can choose.

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7. Scroll down to see even more options. When you use this feature in your search, you can choose whatever source types you need and click Update

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Here's an interactive tutorial

** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **

https://www.iorad.com/player/2310812/Central-Search---How-to-Use-the-Limit-by-Source-Type-Feature?iframeHash=watchsteps-1



Next step

Is it Peer-Reviewed?

Is it Peer Reviewed?

Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell whether or not a source is peer reviewed. When in doubt, it is best to check the journal publisher's website.

  1. Search for the journal's title on Google or another search engine of your choice.

  2. Open the journal publisher's website. Make sure you are viewing the official website for the journal because this should provide you with all of the information you need regarding the journal's publication.

  3. Search on the website for any indication that the journal is peer reviewed. Peer review information is often included in the Author's Guidelines or in the Journal Info section of the website. The structure of websites varies between publishers, so take some time to look around. Remember: The peer review process can be referred to in many ways. Articles could be referred to as "refereed" or as having undergone "double-blind peer review."

Things to Keep in Mind:

  • You can limit searches on most library databases to include only peer reviewed articles. This option is often found in Advanced Search, or the search limiters to the left of the screen.

  • Sometimes, there are individual articles in peer reviewed journals that have not undergone the peer review process. Examples could include editor's notes, columns, and book reviews. Examine the article for any indication that it has not been peer reviewed.

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