LibGuides: Early Childhood Education: Basic Research: Finding Peer-Reviewed Articles

What is a Peer-Reviewed Article?

Popular Articles vs Peer-Reviewed Articles: What's the difference?

Popular Articles

come from newsstand magazines and newspapers
- sold in grocery stores, drug stores, or bookstores
authors - reporters, freelancers, staff writers
editors decide what goes into an issue
audience is the general public

Peer-Reviewed (Scholarly) Articles

appear in academic journals (also known as scholarly journals)
found in libraries, universities, hospitals, and research centers
authors - experts, scientists, professors, scholars or other professionals in a specific field of study
peers of the author (in the same field) read and evaluate a paper (article) for validity, credibility and accuracy before publication
peers of the author recommend that the paper should be published, revised, or rejected
articles that are accepted for publication meet the expected standards for the field
audience - other experts, scholars, professionals in the same field or students pursuing the field

Basic Database Features - Tools and Filters

Each database company (EBSCO, Gale, Credo Reference, etc.) has its own unique "look," but ...

ALL databases have TOOLS. The most commonly used are:

ALL databases have FILTERS. The most commonly used are:

full-text (import in EBSCO databases to access a complete article rather than just a short description)
publication date range
subject categories
source type - newspapers, magazines, peer-reviewed journals, images, audio, video, etc.
publication type you need -newspaper, magazines, or academic (scholarly) journal
document type - peer-reviewed article, essay, biography
language option - this may be limited, but worth checking anyway

Database Intro Guide
Learn to use Western Library Databases. Video tutorials as well as tips and tricks finding articles and other information in library databases.

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
A giant database that covers a wide range of topics. Use it to find peer-reviewed scholarly articles, as well as articles from trade journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
A great resource for writing assignments. Browse a wide list of subject categories from the database’s home page to find articles and information from scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, and multimedia. Content is provided in the fields of biology, chemistry, criminal justice, economics, environmental science, history, marketing, political science, psychology, and more. Includes Gale’s visual Topic Finder tool.

Use this grid can help you decide whether or not your source is scholarly.

	Scholarly	Non-scholarly
Content	Detailed report of original research or experiment, lengthy report of an original application of an arts or humanities concept	Secondary report or discussion may include personal narrative, opinion, anecdotes.
Author	Author's credentials are given, usually a scholar with subject expertise.	Author may or may not be named; often a professional writer; may or may not have subject expertise.
Audience	Scholars, researchers, students.	General public; the interested non-specialist.
Language	Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires prior knowledge.	Vocabulary in general usage; understandable to most readers.
References/ Bibliography	Required. All quotes and facts can be verified.	Rare. Scanty, if any, information about sources.
Examples	Research study, lengthy academic discussion of an arts or humanities concept, research review article	Editorial, news, book/film review, letters, highlights