What Is Scholarly Research?

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Agenda

• What constitutes scholarly research?• Scholarly vs. Popular• A Few Samples• Parts of a Scholarly Article

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What constitutes scholarly research?

• Here are some basic characteristics to consider:– It is based on original research or experimentation.– Composed by an individual(s) affiliated with an institution of

higher learner (college/university).– Subject to the peer-review process.– Include footnotes and/or a bibliography.– Typically published by academic presses.

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Scholarly vs. Popular

When attempting to distinguish scholarly journals from popular periodicals, there are a few things you should consider:

– Coverage & Description• Scholarly-main title typically covers one subject area.• Popular-cover many titles in one issue.• Scholarly-language is more technical/research specific.

• Popular-language is more simplistic/appropriate for general audience.

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Scholarly vs. Popular

– Authorship• Scholarly-written by scholars/experts in the field.• Popular-written by reporters/journalists/or staff writers

– General Appearance of the Document • Scholarly-published less frequently/little or no advertising• Popular-published more frequently/contains extensive advertising

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Just a Few Samples….

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Scholarly or Popular?

• Journal of Asian Studies = Scholarly

• Newsweek = Popular• American Psychologist = Scholarly

• Time = Popular• Military Review = Scholarly

• Psychological Bulletin = Scholarly

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Parts of a Scholarly Article

• Title and Author Information– identifies title of article, author(s), academic affiliations & relevant contact

information

• Abstract– Paragraph summarizing main content of article

• Introduction– Presents research question being asked, provides context of research, &

highlights previous work specific to topic

• Methods– Identifies how research was conducted

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Parts of a Scholarly Article

• Results– Results from research are presented along with any graphs or illustrations

• Discussion– Explains how results addressed main research question, & may suggest need for

further research

• References– Presents publications cited by author(s) in their work