Special Education

What are Scholarly/Academic/Peer-reviewed Sources?

Scholarly/academic/peer-reviewed sources are sources written by experts and are reviewed by experts in the field before the article is published.

Why Do I Need to Evaluate Scholarly Sources?

You may consider scholars with subject expertise have authority in the area of your research topic and thus produce only good sources. However, like all types of sources and authorities, scholarly sources vary a lot by date, scope, method, and etc, making only some of them appropriate to cite in your research. Scholarly sources may have totally valid evidence but not so relevant to your research. 

How Do I Evaluate Scholarly Sources?

Finding a good scholarly source to use can sometimes be a messy process, but below are some questions you can ask yourself in order to determine if the academic article is worth using in your research.

• Date: Some topics, such as those in the health sciences, require current information. Other subjects, such as geology, value older material as well as current. Know the time needs of your topic and examine the timeliness of the article; is it:
  • up-to-date,
  • out-of-date, or
  • timeless?
• Usefulness: Is the article relevant to the current research project? A well-researched, well-written, etc. article is not going to be helpful if it does not address the topic at hand. Ask, "is this article useful to me?" If it is a useful article, does it:
  • support an argument
  • refute an argument
  • give examples (survey results, primary research findings, case studies, incidents)
  • provide "wrong" information that can be challenged or disagreed with productively
• Impact: Scholars have combined standard research metrics, like scholarly output and citation counts, into formulas to measure and assess author and journal impact in new ways. There are usually different types of metrics for different purposes, but in general, you can pay attention to
  • the number of times an article was cited to evaluate the scholarly output of a scholar
  • the number of times articles published for a journal to evaluate the impact of a journal
  • metrics in databases as shown below

More information about factors to consider when evaluating scholarly articles

More information about understanding impact 

Scholarly sources often have a particular writing style and can be challenging to read compared to other types of sources. When reading scholarly literature, read strategically. Don't start by reading the article from start to finish but rather focus on the sections that will give you the information you need first. This will quickly let you know what the article is about and its relevancy for your research. It will also prepare you for when you’re ready to read the full article, giving you a mental map of its structure and purpose.

Here is a suggestion on how to read a scholarly article and which sections to focus on first. 

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What is an Empirical Article?

A research article that reports the results of a study using data derived from actual observation or experimentation rather than theory or belief.

Key characteristics of empirical studies:

• Specific research questions to be answered
• Definition of the population, behavior, or phenomena being studied
• Description of the process used to study this population or phenomena, including selection criteria, controls, and testing instruments (such as surveys)

Standard parts of an empirical article include:

• Introduction and/ or Literature Review -- what is currently known about the topic -- usually includes a theoretical framework and/or discussion of previous studies
• Theories/Models
• Research question/Assertion
• Method/Methodology. Sometimes called "research design" -- how to recreate the study -- usually describes the population, research process, and analytical tools
• Results/Findings. Sometimes called "findings" -- what was learned through the study -- usually appears as statistical data or as substantial quotations from research participants
• Discussion.  Why the study is important -- usually describes and analyzes how the research results influence professional practices or future studies and how they relate to past studies.  
• Conclusion:  Restates the and summarizes key finding and conclusions within the context of the scholarly conversation. 

To limit your search results in databases to empirical studies, use the following limiters or filters:

• scholarly
• academic
• peer-reviewed
• refereed

Many, but not all, of these will be empirical studies.

An alternative is to use terminology recommended by the ERIC thesaurus that might look for specific types of studies. Some useful keywords are: