Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources
Source type
What is it?
Examples
Best used for
Scholarly
A source written by scholars or academics in a
field. The purpose of many scholarly sources
is to report on original research or
experimentation in order to make such
information available to the rest of the
scholarly community. The audience for
scholarly sources is other scholars or experts
in a field. Scholarly sources include
references and usually use language that is
technical or at a high reading level.
*Note: Different databases may define
“scholarly” in slightly different ways, and thus
a source that is considered “scholarly” in one
database may not be considered “scholarly”
in another database. The final decision about
the appropriateness of a given source for a
particular assignment is left to the instructor.
Scholarly Journals
• Journal of Management Information
Systems
• American Journal of Public Health
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Scholarly Books (published by a university
press or other high-quality publisher)
• Shari’a Politics: Islamic Law and
Society in the Modern World
• The Grand Design: Strategy and the
U.S. Civil War
• The Hidden Mechanics of Exercise:
Molecules That Move Us
Journal articles:
• Recent research on a topic
• Very specific topics or narrow
fields of research
• NOT good for an introduction to
or broad overview of a topic
Books:
• In-depth information and research
on a topic
• Putting a topic into context
• Historical information on a topic
Peer Reviewed
A publication that has gone through an
official editorial process that involves review
and approval by the author’s peers (experts
in the same subject area). Many (but not all)
scholarly publications are peer reviewed.
*Note: even though a journal is peer
reviewed, some types of articles within that
Refer to “Scholarly Journals” examples
Books go through a different editorial process
and are not usually considered to be “peer
reviewed”. However, they can still be
excellent scholarly sources.
Refer to “Scholarly Journals” description
Need more help judging the credibility of a source?
Check out this handy Hierarchy of Sources guide.
journal may not be peer reviewed. These
might include editorials or book reviews.
**Note: some publications (such as some
trade journals) can be peer reviewed but not
scholarly. This is not common.
Credible
A source that can be trusted to contain
accurate information that is backed up by
evidence or can be verified in other trusted
sources. Many types of sources can fall into
this category.
*Note: The final decision about the
appropriateness of a given source for a
particular assignment is left to the instructor.
Refer to “Scholarly Journals” examples. Also:
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Books
• Trade journals or publications
• Government websites
• Websites from educational
institutions (like universities)
• Websites or other publications from
reputable organizations (like the
Mayo Clinic)
• Encyclopedias (general or subject)
Many websites could be considered credible.
The more information provided about the
source, the more likely they are to be
credible. Look for information about the
author and/or the organization, how recently
it was published, the intended audience, the
intended purpose, and whether there is
evidence of bias.
• Basic/general/background
information about a topic
• Current events
• Local news
• Statistical data
• Information about specific
organizations or companies (look
at the organization’s or company’s
website, or look for articles in
newspapers or trade journals)
• Government information
• Information about popular culture
• Opinions or commentaries
• Topics of general interest
