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Scholarly vs Popular Periodicals

This guide explains the differences between scholarly and popular periodicals.

Finding scholarly journal articles

  • You can find articles from scholarly journals, along with newspaper and magazine articles by searching the library databases.

  • Some databases cover a wide-range of topics while others are subject specific. You can start your research using one of the general databases, but also try those listed under the subject you are researching.

  • If you are not sure which databases to use, Ask a Librarian for suggestions. Also look at the Research Guides to see if one was created for your topic.

 

Which Databases Contain Scholarly Journal Articles?

Not all databases give you the option of limiting your search results to scholarly articles.

Databases offered by EBSCOhost and ProQuest contain articles from scholarly journals in addition to popular magazines

Listed below are just a small sample of databases that contain scholarly journal articles.

Limit your Search to Scholarly Journals

To limit your search results to professional journals only when using the library databases, look for a box called "Scholarly, Academic or Peer-Reviewed Journals" and be sure to check it.

Some databases contain only scholarly articles and will not show this option. Read the database description to find out what types of sources it covers (Popular or Scholarly).