Why Articles?
The articles found in many scholarly journals go through a "peer-review" process. In other words, the articles are checked by academics and other experts. The information is therefore reliable. As well as containing scholarly information, journal articles can include reports and/or reviews of current research and topic-specific information.
Use scholarly journals when you need original research on a topic; articles and essays written by scholars or subject experts; factual documented information to reinforce a position; or references lists that point you to other relevant research. Scholarly journals take less time to publish than books, but the peer-review process can be lengthy.
Popular articles found in magazines are often written by journalist or professional writers for a general audience. They tend to be shorter than scholarly journal articles and rarely give full citations for sources. Popular articles from magazines are helpful if you want background on a topic that is new to you or very current information
Core Electronic Resources
- Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
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Academic Search Premier is a multi-disciplinary database offering information in nearly every area of academic study, including arts, biology, chemistry, computer sciences, ethnic studies, engineering, language and linguistics, literature, medical sciences, philosophy, physics, psychology, religion, social sciences, and more. - GreenFILE (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. - Applied Science and Technology Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
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Applied Science & Technology Full Text contains indexing and abstracts for scientific and technical publications back to 1983. Content includes coverage of a wide variety of applied science specialties—acoustics to aeronautics, neural networks to nuclear and civil engineering, computers and informatics, and much more. - Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
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This database includes full-text and abstracts of scholarly, trade, and general-interest periodicals covering topics in the areas of current events, general sciences and technology, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
- Engineering Village This link opens in a new window
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Engineering Village is the information discovery platform to search across both Compendex and INSPEC databases. The thesauri on Engineering Village comprise the controlled vocabulary used to index articles in the Compendex, Inspec, GeoRef, GEOBASE and EnCompass databases. - ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
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From foundational science to new and novel research, discover our large collection of Physical Sciences and Engineering publications, covering a range of disciplines, from the theoretical to the applied.
Related & Multidisciplinary Resources
- Digital Commons Network This link opens in a new window
The Digital Commons Network brings together free, full-text scholarly articles from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide. Curated by university librarians and their supporting institutions, the Network includes a growing collection of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, conference proceedings, and other original scholarly work. - OSTI: Office of Scientific and Technical Information This link opens in a new window
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information provides comprehensive access to the results of DOE research and development investments. OSTI is implementing public access to the peer-reviewed scholarly publications resulting from DOE R&D funding. - Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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The Materials Science & Engineering Database includes the renowned METADEX, Copper and Polymer Library databases and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. - AccessEngineering This link opens in a new window
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Includes engineering reference sources, with the latest editions of Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook, Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers, Roark's Formulas for Stress and Strain, and many more ebooks.
Scholarly, Professional, Popular?
Evaluating Sources
What kind of information do you need? If you are writing for a class assignment, you may be required to use peer-reviewed ("refereed") or scholarly sources. In any case, you should always look for sources that are authoritative. For more detailed help with evaluating your sources, see our Evaluating Information Guide.
Scholarly Checklist--Look for:
- Authors listed, with credentials
- Cited references and data, observations, or statistics to support conclusions
- Reviewed by peers or experts in the subject
- Purpose is to inform or impart knowledge, not to sell, persuade, entertain
- Appears impartial--few or no advertisements, no emotional language, unbiased
Authoritative--A source can have authority even if it isn't scholarly.
- Author and/or publisher is an expert on the subject
- Author's affiliations and contact information are available
Other Criteria-- these are not definitive, but worthy of consideration:
- Do you see errors in spelling, grammar, data?
- Is the publication in turn cited by other credible works published later?
- How current is the information (no date? be suspicious)?