FCC Research Guides: How to do Research in College: Finding Scholarly Sources

Scholary Sources VS Popular Sources

Scholarly Sources

Picture of the cover of the American Journal of Psychology, which is blue with some yellow lines.

Popular Sources

Picture of the cover of Psychology Today which is a sheep in glasses.

Author: Written by experts (scientists, professors, scholars) in a particular field.
Audience: Written for other experts in a particular field.
Language: Very technical and scholarly. Not easily understood.
Citations: Provide complete and formal citations for sources.
Review Process: Often reviewed by a panel of scholars in the field being studied. (Peer-Reviewed)

Author: Written by professional writers, journalists, or members of the general public.
Audience: Written for the general public.
Language: Basic and clear. Easily understood.
Citations: Provide informal or no citations for sources.
Review Process: Reviewed by an editor or self-published with no formal review process.

REMEMBER: Popular DOES NOT equal bad. Check with your professors to find out which popular sources they accept.

The Peer-Review Process

Library Databases for Scholarly Sources

These are the Library Databases where you will likely find SCHOLARLY Sources, like Journals:

Before searching in these databases make sure you have created a research question and that you have broken it down into keywords.

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Best Database to start. Includes scholarly journals in a variety of fields. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX.
Business Source Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Great source for finding Business or Economic specific journals. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX.
ERIC (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Great source for education related articles and research. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX.
GreenFILE (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Best database for enviromental science journals. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX
Health Source - Academic/Nursing Edition (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Good for medical and health related journal articles. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX
PsycARTICLES (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Great sources for Peer-Reviewed Journals related to Psychology. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX.

Library Databases for Popular Sources

These are the Library Databases where you will likely find POPULAR sources, like newspapers and magazines.

National Newspapers (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Find articles from leading newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.
Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Has many news magazines and other popular resources. To limit to Popular Articles, check the "Magazine" box after conducting a search.
New York Times Historical Edition This link opens in a new window
Best place to find historic articles from the New York Times, all the way back to 1871.
Health Source - Consumer Edition (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Good source for popular articles related to health.

Using Google Scholar to Find Scholarly Sources

Google Scholar is a discovery tool that helps you find scholarly literature related to your topic.

PROS:

Easy to search
Shows you the impact of an article (how many times it has been cited by other published articles).

CONS:

Not full text (with some exceptions). Unless the article/book is free to the public, you will be asked to pay to view the full text. NEVER PAY FOR AN ARTICLE/BOOK! Ask a librarian for help in locating a full-text copy for you.
Has a limited search scope. You can miss out on other available articles on a topic if you only use Google Scholar.

Interlibrary Loan
If you can't find the article or book you need in FCC's Library, you can request an Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) allows us to ask other libraries to send specific books or articles found in their collections for you to use.

Find Books and DVDs

Find Books and DVDs by searching the Library Catalog.

Find Other Kinds of Scholarly Content

Sometimes other types of scholarly or authoritative content is needed to help defend your paper's thesis.

Try out these resources to find specialized types of content.

Statistics and Demographics Research Guide
Guide to finding all sorts of statistic and demographic information at the national, international, and local level.

Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Search for video and video clips on a variety of subjects from a number of producers such as BBC, PBS, and the History Channel.

Google Scholar
WARNING: Many of the articles found in a Google Scholar do not include full-text articles without payment. Look for a short link to the right of the main result link. If there is a short link the article may be available for free. NEVER PAY for an article.

How to Identify Research Studies

Academic journals usually have two types of articles:

Reviews look at other peoples' research and summarize research in a specific area of study.

Research studies report the actual research being conducted by the authors of the article.

Research Studies will often have these distinct sections:

Abstract: Brief summary of the article and its contents.
Introduction: Provides background and possibly discusses earlier research.
Methods: Lays out the methods used to conduct the research.
Results: Reports the results of the research. Often includes charts and/or tables.
Discussion and/or Conclusion: Discusses the results for the research and talks about other steps that can be taken.
Literature Cited or Bibliography: Lists sources cited in the article.

Check to see if the article has a METHODS section and a RESULTS section. If it DOES NOT have these two sections IT IS NOT A RESEARCH STUDY.