Here to help!
No matter what citation style you use, sometimes professors will ask you to use "scholarly articles" rather than popular magazines. Use the table below to learn what the differences are.
Still not sure if your source is peer-reviewed or not? Try Ulrich's Periodical Directory -- it lists each periodical as Consumer, Trade, or Academic/Scholarly.
| Characteristic | Scholarly Journal | Popular Magazine |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Sober and serious May contain graphs or charts Will not find glossy pages or photographs |
Attractive appearance Advertisements Heavily Illustrated Glossy paper |
| Audience | Scholars and students | General public |
| Authors | Scholars in the field of study | Sources not cited or cited informally |
| Purpose | Report results of original research or experimentation | Provide general information |
| Article Acceptance Procedure | Many (but not all*) scholarly journals are "refereed" or "peer reviewed" - articles undergo a rigorous examination by other scholars in the field before being published | Written by hired reporters, edited by magazine editors, then published |
| Example Journals | Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise Journal of Sports Medicine Internal Journal of Sport Psychology |
Sports Illustrated Coach and Athletic Director Bicycling |
| Example Articles | The use of herbal and other non-vitamin, non-mineral supplements among pre- and post-menopausal women in Ontario | 10 Supplements for Women of Any Age |
*All peer-reviewed journals are scholarly, but not all scholarly journals are peer-reviewed.
Peer-reviewed = reviewed by professionals in the field, independent of the journal.
Scholarly = has an editorial staff knowledgeable in the field.
Primary sources are original sources created by a participant or observer of a historical event that provide direct evidence or first-hand testimony. These records allow historians to study unfiltered evidence and critically develop an interpretation of the past.
Secondary sources are interpretations or analyses of primary sources. An example would be an article about women leaders during the civil rights movement, or a book about the Louisiana Purchase.
Tertiary sources are even further removed from the primary source. They are works that use secondary sources for information. Encyclopedias are examples of tertiary sources.
After finding some preliminary background information, think about what sources would serve your research need.
Use Central Search to combine the keywords of your topic with these terms: ex. "George Washington" AND correspondence
You can also search specific library databases for primary sources related to your topic. Newspaper databases are good places to look.
Check the bibliography of any secondary source you find to see if they list primary sources.
The University of Central Oklahoma recognizes the university's main campus is located on the traditional lands of the Caddo and Wichita people.
View the full Land Acknowledgement.
