Graduate Student Research Guide
Are All Library Resources Scholarly?
No, not all resources you'll find at the library are scholarly.
In many cases, the books you get from the library and articles you find in the library's research databases are scholarly. These sources have often gone through a traditional editorial or peer review process, which means that someone or some group has checked all the facts and arguments the author made and deemed them suitable for publishing. However, you still have to think about whether the book or article is current, objective, and relevant enough for your research.
The library does subscribe to some non-scholarly publications such as popular magazines like People, Vogue, and Ebony. Some library databases include non-scholarly publications like newspapers and trade magazines as well so no matter where you're searching for information you should always evaluate your sources for their relevancy, currency, objectiveness, authoritativeness, and accuracy.
What are Peer Reviewed Journals?
"Many scholarly journals use a process of peer review prior to publishing an article, whereby other scholars in the author's field or specialty critically assess a draft of the article. Peer-reviewed journals (also called refereed journals) are scholarly journals that only publish articles that have passed through this review process. The review process helps ensure that the published articles reflect solid scholarship in their fields." Source: https://guides.lib.calpoly.edu/c.php?g=902806&p=6549460#s-lg-box-20814068
Understanding Research Articles
For help understanding research articles, please check out the web resources below: