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PSYD31: Cultural-Clinical Psychology

Instructor: Jessica Dere

Scholarly Sources

Primary or Empirical Sources 

A primary source in science has to:

  • Document original research work.
  • Include enough information for peers to understand and reproduce the work. 
  • Be indexed in a science journal article database (like Web of Science or PsycINFO). 

Most of the time, we consider peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles to be the best example of primary sources in the sciences.  

What are Scholarly Source?

A primary empirical article (scholarly and peer reviewed) is suitable for your references in this course.

Scholarly articles are published papers written by experts in a particular field of study - generally for the purpose of sharing original research or analyzing others' findings.

These articles reflect the stages of the research process and usually appear in the following sequence: 

Here is an interactive guide to scholarly peer-reviewed articles. It shows all the elements common to empirical studies. 

 

Be Careful!

Some publications have many characteristics of a scholarly work but are not peer-reviewed. These can be valuable sources for your research, but the extent to which a particular work would benefit  from formal scrutiny is not always clear. For example:

  • Government documents: A vast array of publications are produced by government bodies. Some of these will not peer-reviewed but are produced by subject experts and have most of the characteristics of a scholarly publication. You will have to assess each government publication you wish to use to ensure that it is appropriate source material for your purposes.
     
  • Conference proceedings: ​Compilations of papers presented at conferences are sometimes the base material for future refereed publications and have already been peer-reviewed. You will need to check the status of any material you find in a collection of conference proceedings to ensure that it is suitable for your research.
     
  • Theses & dissertations: ​While subject to rigorous review, theses and dissertations are not universally considered to have been peer-reviewed. Check with your instructor to determine if these are acceptable sources for your research.
     
  • Books from academic/university presses: ​If a book's editorial board is not comprised of subject experts it cannot be considered peer-reviewed, yet it may still be a very useful source. Ask yourself: is the author an expert in the field? Does the book have all the other criteria of a scholarly publication besides being peer-reviewed? If yes to both - the book will likely be a useful addition to your collection of (mostly refereed) research sources.
Use the following chart to help determine which information sources to use for your research and where to find them:

Comparing Non-Scholarly and Scholarly Resources

  Non-Scholarly Sources (Newspapers, Magazines, etc)

       Scholarly Sources  (including peer-reviewed journals)
Audience
  • General public
  • Scholars in that field, and the academic community
Authors
  • Journalists; professional writers; persons with a general interest in that topic.
  • No academic affiliation or credentials given
  • Experts in that field (faculty, post-docs, graduate students, etc.)
  • Articles will include author's research affliations
Editors
  • Editor working for publisher
  • Editorial board of scholars
  • Peer reviewers who are experts in the field
Citations (Footnotes, Endnotes, etc)
  • References are typically NOT included
  • Includes a bibliography, references, or works cited section.
Publishers   
  • Commercial publisher
  • Scholarly or professional organization, an academic press
Writing Style
  • Assumes readers have no or little knowledge of topic
  • Intended for broad readership
  • Assumes reader has a level of knowledge in the field
  • Uses jargon and technical details related to the field
Other Characteristics
  • Includes advertisements and pictures
  • Glossy presentation
  • Broad subject coverage
  • Text heavy, with few if any images excepts for graphical presentation of data
  • Tables and charts included
  • Few or no advertisements
  • A narrow subject focus

Is the Journal Peer-Reviewed?

Ulrich's Periodical Directory lets you see whether a journal in which you found your article is scholarly and peer-reviewed. 

Search for the title of the journal in Ulrich's

screen cap of ulrich's search

If the journal is peer-reviewed, you will see a REFEREE'S T-shirt image beside the title:

screen cap of refereed journal symbol