What is a Scholarly Article?
Important information about scholarly journals
The parts of the articles, as well as images showing what these parts may look like, are outlined below.
- Scholarly journals are often referred to as Academic Journals, Peer-Reviewed Journals, and Research Journals
- Purpose: Scholarly journals are educational and serve to share information and original research between scholars in particular academic disciplines
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- Subject Matter: Articles contain very specific and specialized information. Usually articles are reports of research on narrow and subtle aspects of a particular field of study
- Language: Language is appropriate for scholarly dialog; articles often contain context terminology, jargon, or mathematical formulas used in a particular field of study
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- Format: Articles have abstracts that summarize the content of the article. Articles are often long and complex, typically with standardized sections such as Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Conclusion, and Discussion
- Graphics: Journals are mostly text-based and often look "plain" with few photos or graphics. Graphics and charts often illustrate research results or statistics
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- Bibliography: All sources are cited in a bibliography
- Authors: Authors are academic researchers or specialists in their field whose articles have passed scrutiny and review by peers/fellow specialists in their field; author affiliations (title, degree, academic position held) are usually mentioned in the article
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- Publishers: Journals are usually published by educational institutions, professional organizations, or non-profits
How to Read a Scholarly Article
