Undergraduate Research
Whether you are a student, researcher, or curious reader, understanding what makes an article scholarly is essential for academic success. This guide will walk you through the key components of scholarly articles and help you distinguish them from other types of writing. Explore the components detailed below and start a checklist for yourself as you expand your research.
What Is a Scholarly Article?
A scholarly article is a piece of academic writing that reports original research, reviews existing studies, or presents a critical analysis within a discipiline. These articles are written by experts, for experts, and are intended to advance knowledge in that specific field.
It is different from other articles such as popular or trade articles in that the former are written for general audiences (i.e., magazines and newspapers) and the later are more industry-focused that target professionals with practical information.
| Feature | Targets | Components | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | Academics, researchers | Scholarly articles are intended for readers familiar with the topic, such as researchers, faculty, and students. They assume prior knowledge and use specialized language/vocabulary. | Example: Articles about climate change might include terms like "Anthropocene" or "carbon sequestration" without explanation. |
| Author Affiliation | Experts, academics | Authors typically have university or research institution affiliations to support their credibility. Their names may appear with degrees (MBA, Ph.D, etc) and the institution from which these distinctions were received. | Tip: Check the author bio or the article header/footer for this information. |
| Research Content | Technical, formal | A scholarly article reports on original research or comprehensive reviews by clearly detailing their research questions or hypothoses, methodologies, data analysis procedure, and results and the interpretation of said results. | Example: A psychology study may explain their process of receiving IRB approval, how participants were selected, what tests were administered, and statistical results. |
| Review Process | Peer-reviewed | All articles undergo a peer-review process before it can be published in a scholarly or academic journal, meaning that experts evaluate the work to ensure quality and validity. | Tip: Use database filters or the specific journal website to verify peer-review status. |
| Citations and References | Inclusion of primary and secondary sources, in-text citations and bibliography | Scholarly articles cite other research to support their claims. They include detailed reference lists or bibliographies following discipline-specific styles like MLA, APA, or Chicago. | Citations allow readers to verify information and explore related studies. |
| Rhetoric | Technical, formal | The writing is formal and objective in tone, with a clear and logical structure. The tone avoids personal opinions or colloquialisms. | A clear stucture is listed as follows: abstract; introduction; literature review; methods; results; discussion; conlusion. |
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I find scholarly articles?
What if the article isn't peer-reviewed but is in a journal?
Some journals publish opinion pieces or papers that are not peer-reviewed. You will have to verify on the journal's website.
What other kinds of work will journals publish?
