Gingrich Library: FYS 100 -- Conspiracies (Fall 2023): Fact Checking--Reputable Sources--Scholarly Articles

Scholarly Articles for Your Final Paper

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.

Scholarly vs. Popular

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

Scholarly Articles

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
A scholarly business database providing both bibliographic and fulltext items with indexing and abstracts going back as far as 1886.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a shared digital library that includes the fulltext of more than 2,000 academic journals, dating back to the first volume published. Coverage varies depending on the journal title.
Due to "moving wall" agreements with the publishers, JSTOR does not include current issues of journals; the most recently published issue of any current journal will not appear in JSTOR until 1-5 years after the publishing date.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
A renowned resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, it is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Coverage: citations to journals, 1887-present; book citations 1997-present
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
World's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database. Its extensive scope and content provide users with a wealth of extremely useful information encompassing the broad spectrum of sociological study. Coverage: Full text coverage spans from 1904 to present for 777 of the journals, indexing from 1895 to present for other sources
Coverage includes abortion, criminology & criminal justice, demography, ethnic & racial studies, gender studies, marriage & family, political sociology, religion, rural & urban sociology, social development, social psychology, social structure, social work, socio-cultural anthropology, sociological history, sociological research, sociological theory, substance abuse & other addictions, violence and many others.