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Scholarly Publication Cycle |
Types of Scholarly Publications
This is the traditional form of scholarly information.
It would be impossible to thumb through the print journals to find scholarly articles on the appropriate topic.
The library subscribes to commercially compiled databases of journal articles for use in research.
Please be aware - some databases contain both scholarly and non-scholarly articles. Keep in mind everything discussed in this session when evaluating whether the article found is scholarly.
Let's have a look at subscription databases
It is far more difficult to distinguish scholarliness from a database. If at all uncertain, consult Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, a reference source that describes all published journals. Ulrich's is a 4 volume set that can be found on the shelf behind the reference desk. The call number is ref PN4832 .U5
Often scholars relinquish most or all of their copyright rights in order to publish in scholarly journals. In addition, flat budgets and increasing costs have forced many libraries to reduce their subscriptions to journals and databases. As a result, many scholars and institutions have developed Open Access publishing.
In Open Access, institutions publish scholarly work online, making their research free and open to the public...hence, open access. As most Open Access publishing adheres to peer-review, this information can generally be considered scholarly, particularly items published from reputable colleges. Read more about Open Access.
The Open Access movement is growing. In February of 2008, Harvard recently mandated that all Harvard researchers deposit their "scholarly articles" in an open access (OA) repository to be managed within the library and to be made freely available to anyone via the Internet. (Library Journal announcement)
DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
OpenDOAR
OAIster
eserver.org
arXiv
DSpace at MIT
BioMed Central
Google has made a concerted effort to bring some peer reviewed journal articles to the public. Give Google scholar a try, but Milne Library subscription databases will give a more comprehensive overview of the literature.
Generally, books in the library have been selected by librarians and faculty members as contributing to the curriculum; therefore, books in Milne Library can, for the most part, be considered scholarly. Use Milne Library's online catalog to find books.
Yes, websites can be considered scholarly, but you must evaluate websites very carefully. Please keep in mind all the criteria set forth in this session when evaluating whether information found on a website is scholarly.
Examples of websites containing scholarly information:
Infomine
Internet Scout Report - Archives
Voice of the Shuttle
Please send questions or comments to Tracy
Paradis
last update 2/25/07