For much of your research in college, your professors will require you to use scholarly, academic sources. For your final paper for this course you are required to use scholarly sources. These sources are written by experts and researchers in a particular field of study. Many are peer reviewed, meaning that before publication they have been sent to other experts to verify the value and accuracy of the article. Below is a table to help you decide if a resource is scholarly.
Characteristics |
Scholarly Journal |
Popular Magazine |
Length |
Articles are usually 10 pages or more in length; providing in-depth analysis of topics |
Shorter articles (less than 10 pages), providing broader overview of topics |
Written by |
Author usually an expert or specialist in the field, name and credentials always provided |
Author usually a journalist or a staff writer, name and credentials often not provided |
Language/Written for |
Written in technical language for professors, researchers, students of the field |
Written at high school level for the general public |
Coverage |
Original research results and scholarship |
Popular topics and current events |
Slant |
Supposed to present objective/neutral viewpoint; |
May reflect the editorial bias/slant of the magazine |
Frequency |
Usually quarterly |
Usually weekly |
Format/Structure |
Articles usually structured, may include: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography |
Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure |
Special Features |
Illustrations that support the text, such as, tables of statistics, graphs, diagrams, maps, or photographs |
Illustrations with glossy paper or color photographs |
Appearance |
Serious and sober, with few colors and few or no advertisements |
Glossy, with pictures and advertisements |
Editors |
Articles usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (known as refereed or peer-reviewed) |
Articles are not reviewed by experts in the field, but by editors on staff |
References Cited |
Usually includes a bibliography and/or footnotes |
Usually has no bibliography or footnotes |
Examples |
Ecology Social Science Quarterly American Political Science Review
|
Time Newsweek Sports Illustrated Scientific American |
See the links below for scholarly articles on health topics for your final paper.
A multidisciplinary database of more than 8,500 fulltext periodicals with pdf content going back as far as 1887. Includes indexing and abstracting for more than 12,500 periodicals.
There are many websites devoted to fact-checking. And they might not be reputable either. If you want to see other reputable fact-checking sites, try googling fact checking libguides and you will find what other libraries have felt were valuable.
From the Annenburg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. "We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."
"The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy."
"PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. PolitiFact is run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida." In 2009, PolitiFact won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
Started in the 90s, Snopes.com is perhaps the most popular website for looking up urban legends, but they also fact check misinformation of all kinds.