What is a scholarly source?
Both books and articles can be scholarly sources. In regard to books, some key things to look for are those titles that are described as critical texts and are often published by academic presses.
When your professors ask you to use scholarly articles, sometimes referred to as peer-reviewed articles, they want you to find articles that provide in-depth analysis on a subject. These articles are expanding upon the research that has already been done, so they will also include citations to other scholarly sources and studies. The authors of these articles are experts in their field, and the articles are normally published in peer-reviewed journals associated with universities, colleges, or academic associations.
Another thing to keep in mind is that just because an article appears in a peer-reviewed journal, does not mean the article was peer-reviewed. For instance, reviews of books do not typically undergo peer-review.
To learn more about the peer-review process, watch the video below.
