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COM 1040: Public Speaking

Scholarly Journals and Peer Review

Scholarly journals are publications that have a regular schedule (monthly, quarterly, biannually, etc.) for researchers to publish their original research. They also include reviews of new books or resources and general updates in their field.

Scholarly journals are typically peer-reviewed, which means that fellow experts in that field have verified the article's contents. This process can take some time so scholarly articles are often published months or years after an event.

This type of source is used to get an expert's opinion on a specific field of study.

Peer review process

How to identify a peer-reviewed journal article

  • In Library Search, an article from a peer-reviewed journal will have a purple icon Peer Review Library Search icon. You can also Google the name of the journal to find their website and search their About or Submissions pages to see if they mention "peer-review."
    • Remember, peer-reviewed journals also have book reviews and updates from the field. If the article is only a page or two and does not include any references/works cited/bibliography, it is probably not a peer-reviewed journal article.
  • The publication usually has "Journal" in the title but not always
  • It is written by someone who studies or teaches in that field. They are usually associated with a university, the government, or large research company.
  • It is written for researchers, teachers, or students in that field and uses academic terminology.
  • Any images will be very academic (graphs, charts, images from microscopes, etc.)
  • If there are any advertisements, they will be very specific to that field of study like an ad for a database or conference.

Trade Publications

Trade publications are publications that also have a regular schedule (usually monthly or quarterly) for researchers to publish updates on in-progress research or general conversations about actively working in that field of study or industry. They are written by active professionals or practitioners in the field for fellow professional and practitioners. They undergo a general editing process for content, style, and grammar but are not peer-reviewed.

This type of source is used to get a practitioner's opinion on a topic. They are usually closer to a situation than the authors of scholarly journal articles and discuss things in terms of practical application.

How to identify a trade journal article

  • In Library Search, there will be no icon indicated it is a peer reviewed journal. If you Google the name of the publication and look at their About or Submissions page, it will not mention "peer-review" but may mention an editing process.
  • The articles are a few pages long but rarely more than ten. It may include a list of references/works cited/bibliography.
  • The publication will probably not have "Journal" in the title but may have the title of the profession like "American String Teachers."
  • It is written by and for someone who is an active professional or practitioner in that field and uses some technical jargon but reads more like a newspaper article than a scholarly journal article.
  • Images may be academic but some will also be for overall design and an attractive layout.
  • Advertisements are specific to that field and are about as frequent as a newspaper or magazine.

Popular Sources

Popular sources are publications that also have a regular schedule (usually daily or weekly) for journalists to share news with the general public. They undergo a general editing process for content, style, and grammar but are not peer-reviewed.

This type of source is to get the general public's view on a topic or learn about a very recent event.

How to identify an article from a popular source

  • In Library Search, there may be an icon indicating it is a newspaper or magazine Library Search Newspaper icon If you Google the name of the publication and look at their About page, it will not mention "peer-review." There will probably be a contact page for the list of editors of the publication.
  • There may be hyperlinks to more information but there is no list of references/works cited/bibliography.
  • The publication may have "Times" or "Weekly" or "News" in the title.
  • It is written by journalists for the general public and will explain any technical jargon. The writing style is either brief and to the point or very conversational.
  • There are many advertisements and they may or may not be related to the content of the article.

Research Honeycomb Model

honeycomb with 6 hexagons around one that is labled topic

Research Honeycomb

Information comes in many different forms. What are some categories or types of voices where you can find information?

Model of a honeycomb

Research Honeycomb Model

In academic research, we tend to only emphasize academic voices while there are many other voices in different formats that can be used in a scholarly context.

Research Honeycomb with LGBTQ+ topics

Example Research Honeycomb

Here is an example of a Research Honeycomb for LGBTQIA2S+ topics. Remember to consider sources for your topic from all arguments. If you find a source against your argument, use it to understand that viewpoint and create a counterargument.

Infographic: Flow of Info

Information does not stay the same. It evolves over time. 

Information changes in format, content, and quality. When choosing information, consider the flow of information. Are you selecting the best resource available?

Primary and Secondary Sources

Sources can be described as primary, secondary, and tertiary. These categories describe how many layers of interpretation a source has.*

Click the tabs at the top of this box to learn about each layer of interpretation.

Concentric venn diagram with source as the inner circle, interpretation as the next circle, and collection of interpretations as the biggest circle

*Many sources will have a combination of primary and secondary source information. It is rare to find raw information without any interpretation accompanying it.

A primary source is raw information or the thing being studied. This can look differently depending on the discipline. In the sciences, raw information could be a data set; in the humanities, raw information could be the piece of art, a manuscript, or sound recording; in the social science, raw information could be a diary, newspaper clippings of an event, or census data.

Primary sources contain the information that is the focus of your research.

Concentric venn diagram with source as the inner circle, interpretation as the next circle, and collection of interpretations as the biggest circle

While the databases listed below can be used to find primary sources for a variety of topics, some disciplines have specific collections. See a subject guide for more resources.

Secondary sources are interpretations of raw information. They may or may not contain the raw data. For example, an anthology of letters written by a historical figure can contain the primary source of photographs or transcriptions of the original letters and be accompanied by the secondary source of short essays that provide context for the letters. Most books and journal articles will fall into this category.

Secondary sources provide context for the information at the focus of your research.

Concentric venn diagram with source as the inner circle, interpretation as the next circle, and collection of interpretations as the biggest circle

While the databases listed below can be used to find secondary sources for a variety of topics, some disciplines have specific databases or collections. See a subject guide for more resources.

Tertiary sources are collections of interpretations (secondary sources). Like secondary sources, they may contain parts of primary sources but the purpose of a tertiary source is to give a broad overview of the scholarly conversations around a primary source. These are typically referred to as reference sources like dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, textbooks, handbooks, literature reviews, etc.

Use tertiary sources to start your research.

Concentric venn diagram with source as the inner circle, interpretation as the next circle, and collection of interpretations as the biggest circle

While the databases listed below can be used to find tertiary sources for a variety of topics, some disciplines have specific books or databases. See a subject guide for more resources.

Identify the Article Type

In small groups, determine if your assigned source is a popular, scholarly, or trade article. Elect someone to share your choice and reasoning with the class.

Parts of the Research Honeycomb

Topic: What is being researched.

Academic Voices: What we typically think of in academic research. Books, journal articles, conference presentations, etc.

News Media: International, national, local, regional, or topic-based news sources.

Community Voices: The voices of those who are being researched. Social media, blogs, YouTube, etc.

Association and Organization Reports: Information created by non-government organizations.

Government Reports: Information created by government organizations/agencies.

Stakeholders and Allies: Information by those who are not directly related to your topic but may be indirectly related socially, financially, regionally, etc.

Handouts