Literature Appropriate for College-Level Research

Imagine a spectrum with “sensational” publications (tabloid newspapers like the National Enquirer, questionable magazines like Hustler, and “bodice-ripper” romances) on one end; popular general literature (Time & Newsweek; Gone with the Wind) in the middle; and trade, professional, and scholarly or learned publications (The Wall Street Journal; JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association; Milton’s Paradise Lost) on the other end.  (Look below to see a graphic using periodical titles to illustrate this idea.) 

Many professors require literature from, or nearest to, the scholarly end of this spectrum. 

General vs. Scholarly Resources
A layperson who is not interested in in-depth information may desire non-technical, perhaps even superficial, information; but the professional or scholar may require very carefully researched and well-documented professional or scholarly information.   For example, a non-specialist doing some leisure reading on “health and fitness” may find appropriate information in items in the second column of the table below, while the professional or scholar may need the authoritative materials in the third column. 

Professional/Scholarly Literature
Professional/scholarly information is more highly valued in academe because these resources are more likely to present an in-depth, comprehensive, and authoritative argument or investigation of a clearly-defined problem or topic.

Scholarly works are judged not only by their contribution to research and the validity of the information they provide, but also by their adherence to the research method, their thoroughness, and their attention to detail and to technical data.  Scholarly works

• almost always are written by a scholar, researcher, specialist, or practicing professional in the field encompassing the problem or topic.
• generally include extensive background information.
• usually reference previous work and have extensive bibliographies.
• if books or other published reports, are often but not always, reviewed in scholarly journals.

Professional/scholarly publications are brought forward via

• Professional and scholarly societies such as the American Chemical Society, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English).
• University presses like Johns Hopkins, Ohio University’s Swallow Press, and Oxford University Press.
• Commercial publishers/imprints such as Elsevier Science, Basic Books, Nature, and Random House which specialize in professional and scholarly resources.

Peer Reviewed, Refereed, Juried?
The publication or presentation process for professional and scholarly information assures that the content is more likely to be authoritative, credible, accurate, and objective because books, articles, and presentation proposals are carefully scrutinized by  editors, program committees, and/or other scholars prior to publication or presentation. 

Journals (professional and scholarly periodicals) that require that articles be examined by other experts or scholars prior to publication are designated as “peer reviewed,”  “refereed,” “juried,” or “blind reviewed.”  Our library webpage, Types of Periodical Literature and Peer Reviewed Articles, shows how to use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory to determine if a periodical is a scholarly journal and if it is peer reviewed.  You may also download our Word document, "My Resource is Professional or Scholarly If..."   For more information about scholarly articles, see the Research Tutorial on Articles. 

Get help via IM, Chat With a Librarian, email (Reference_Services@Shawnee.edu), or by phoning (740.351.3321).  

If you prefer face-to-face assistance, stop by the Clark Memorial Library Reference Counter or schedule a Research Consultation with a Reference Librarian.