Psychology Resources: What is a scholarly journal?

As you proceed through your program, you may be required to cite scholarly articles in your research papers. Or you may have to critique a scholarly article. What is a scholarly journal and how is it different from a magazine or newspaper? All three are called periodicals because they are published at periodic intervals throughout the year.

• Newspapers are usually published daily and are a great source of local information, editorials, and opinions. Most newspapers now publish Web sites. Examples of newspapers are the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
• Magazines are good sources of information or opinions about popular culture or up-to-date information on current events. Popular magazines typically have colorful covers and lots of advertisements. Examples are Newsweek, Sports Illustrated and U.S. News & World Report. Articles are not usually written by experts in the field.
• Scholarly or peer-reviewed journals have collections of articles written by experts in academic or professional fields. Journals are excellent for finding out what has been studied or researched on a topic and to find bibliographies that point to other relevant sources of information.

Watch the videos below to learn how to differentiate between a popular magazine and a scholarly journal.

This great video on how to identify scholarly articles come from the Cornell University Library.

This short video from Vanderbilt University illustrates how to recognize a scholarly article and how to find them in the library.