What is a journal? A journal article?
A journal has a number of issues each year, and each issue has a number of journal articles.
- are usually written by one or more academics
- usually end with a list of references to other journal articles and scholarly sources
- tend to describe original research
- are often organized into sections such as literature review, methdology, results and conclusion
What is an abstract?
An abstract is a short summary, usually of a journal article. Reading the abstract is a great way to tell if the article is going to be useful for what you need.
How do I know if a source is "scholarly" or "academic"?
Often your professors will ask you to use "scholarly sources" or "academic sources." But what are they?
- Journal articles and books that have been written by people with advanced degrees in the subject area
- They have been reviewed and/or edited by other academics who are expert in the same subject
- They almost always cite other scholarly or academic sources, so they have a bibliography or reference list at the end
- The authors are listed, usually with the university or college where they work