Today your task is to look for a journal article on your group's topic. When you are asked to find scholarly or peer-reviewed sources, that is generally referring to journal articles. Let's break down what some of these words that get used a lot mean.
Peer reviewed: process by which work created by scholars is evaluated by other scholars in their field to decide if it is suitable for publication on the value of its accuracy, merit, contribution to the field, etc. This is done for books published by academic presses and for journal articles. Why might this be seen as a process that increases the value of the work?
Journals: Often started and managed by academic groups and societies like the American Psychological Association, they publish issues on a routine schedule (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.) that are peer-reviewed articles written by scholars in the field. Also often publish book reviews and other shorter pieces that are not peer-reviewed in the same way.
Databases: Library portals that maintain access to journals and other sources, often discipline based, like AnthropologyPlus or Historical Abstracts. They may only index materials, meaning describe them, and not actually have the full text of the article, but knowing the article exists is the first step!
Below are a couple of our bigger databases that group a lot of resources together, so you might find a sociology article or a physics article in them. These are where you should search today. You can find a complete list of our databases on our Databases A-Z page, linked on the library homepage.
As you're searching, consider the tips in the "Basic Keyword Searches" box on this page for ways to augment your searches. Also once you're in your results, look through some of the ways the database lets you sort or remove resources.
Make sure its an article you can get access to (often there is an option like "Check for Full Text"). For future reference, if its not, we can request it through Interlibrary Loan and you will get it in a day or two- never pay for articles!
Once you have found an article, think about the following:
For both Sherlock and databases, there are ways you can construct your searches to get more specific results:
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