This video defines library databases and explains what you'll find in them.
*This video tutorial was created by the video owner and is not specific to CCC, but the content gives you general guidance on the subject. Please contact a librarian if you have questions not covered here.
This video defines keywords, and demonstrates how to develop and refine keywords for library database searches.
*This video tutorial was created by the video owner and is not specific to CCC, but the content gives you general guidance on the subject. Please contact a librarian if you have questions not covered here.
How do I know if it's a scholarly/peer-reviewed article?
College instructors often require that students include only scholarly articles in the bibliographies of their research papers. But how can a student tell the difference between a scholarly publication and a popular one that's written for a general audience?
The criteria below will help you recognize a scholarly or research article. Not every one of these criteria will be found in every article, but when you can answer yes to many of the following questions, you can be quite confident that you've found the kind of literature your instructor wants you to use.
Looking at the Citation
These criteria are most important when you are looking at a citation for an article in an index, a database, or a bibliography:
Does the periodical title depict a very specific subject area?
Does the article have a complex and lengthy title?
Are the authors' names listed along with their degrees, titles, or other credentials and/or the names of the institutions with which they are affiliated (particularly colleges or universities)?
Was the article cited in a subject-specific index or database (e.g., Education Index, Medline, Sociological Abstracts)?
Does the periodical title contain the words Journal, Studies, Research, or Review?
Is the article long -- more than 5 pages?
Peer Review
How do articles get peer reviewed? What role does peer review play in scholarly research and publication? This video will explain.
*This video tutorial was created by the video owner and is not specific to CCC, but the content gives you general guidance on the subject. Please contact a librarian if you have questions not covered here.