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HIST 300 - Introduction to Historical Studies: Scholarly Journals and Articles Defined

Is my Article from a Scholarly Journal?

Is it scholarly? by LKaras Work

One way to tell if your journal is Scholarly is to use Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory see information and link below.

Using Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory

As described in the Ulrichsweb Glossary of Terms, here are the differences between the terms Refereed/Peer-reviewed journals and Academic/Scholarly journals:

Academic/Scholarly: A serial type assigned by Ulrich's to describe the primary audience for the publication. The Academic/Scholarly determination is made by a process combining publisher self-reporting about individual titles and independent research by the Ulrich's Content Operations team.

Refereed/Peer-Reviewed: The terms "refereed" and "peer-reviewed" both refer to the system of critical evaluation of manuscripts/articles by professional colleagues or peers. Multiple types of peer-review (e.g., double-blind, expert) are included under this designation. The content of peer-reviewed publications is sanctioned, vetted, or otherwise approved by a peer-review board, board of referees, or editorial board. The peer-review and evaluation system is utilized to protect, maintain, and raise the quality of scholarly material published in serials. Publications subject to the process are assumed, then, to contain higher quality content than those that are not. The Refereed/Peer-reviewed designation in Ulrich's is assigned at the title level rather than at the article level or platform level.

Ulrich's gathers information about current peer-reviewed publications directly from publishers or from publisher websites, as well as from individual journal websites. The Ulrich's Content Operations team searches the websites for information about the journal's peer-review process, editorial board and policies, and other elements to assist them in their research. The information is supplemented by feedback from librarians and individuals associated with the publications. Until information can be confirmed, Ulrich's does not display a "Refereed" icon (an image of a sport referee's jersey) for the publication.

NOTEL Although the majority of Refereed/Peer-reviewed publications in Ulrich's are also Academic/Scholarly serials, it is possible for a publication to have one designation but not the other.

Identifying Refereed/Peer-reviewed and Academic/Scholarly titles

Both designations are available as limiters in Ulrichsweb, in a Basic or Advanced Search.
Basic search view:
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Advanced search view:
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What is a Scholarly Article?

Find an Article Videos

Scholarly vs Peer Reviewed

Follow the citations! by LKaras Work