How can you tell if a source is scholarly?

• Is the author an academic?

  • Does the author have a Ph.D.? Are they employed at a university or college? If the source doesn't say, use Google to look up the author.

• Does this source present the results of research by the authors?

• Are there a lot of footnotes, endnotes, or references?

• Is it published by an academic or university press? (for books)

  • The publisher may contain the name of a university [ex: Oxford University Press];
    if the publisher is not a university press, use Google to find the press and read about their editorial board/policies.

• Is it published in a scholarly journal? (for articles)

  • Many scholarly journals contain the word "journal" in the title; if the title does not include the word "journal," use Google to check out the journal's website & editorial board.

  • If the publisher is a university press, that's a good clue that the publication is peer reviewed and scholarly.

If the answers are yes, the source is probably scholarly -- which means it has gone through a rigorous peer review process.

If you are unsure, ask your professor or a librarian!

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article