Scholarly Journal Articles

Searching Databases for Scholarly Journal Articles     

Scholarly journals are periodicals Links to an external site. that were written for people studying or working in a particular field. Journal articles include technical language, research studies and data, and usually don't have advertisements (like magazines do). Authors of scholarly journal articles are experts in their field like college professors, doctors, scientists, and other expert professionals & researchers.  (In contrast, magazine and newspaper articles are written for the general public; anyone can read and understand a magazine or newspaper article, and there are usually lots of advertisements and pictures.) 

Example of a Scholarly Journal Article in a Library Database Links to an external site. (then click on PDF FULL TEXT to see the entire article)- Notice the author's credentials, the language they use, the sections of the article, the citations and evidence provided, etc. and how this differs from magazines and newspaper articles.

Will there by journal articles on my topic?

There are thousands of scholarly journals covering every topic imaginable. Here are some example journal titles:

• Ethics and Information Technology
• Contemporary Drug Problems
• Journal of Forestry
• Journal of Parapsychology

 Watch the video below for detailed information on what makes a scholarly source.