Is this source scholarly?

What is a ‘scholarly’ or ‘peer reviewed’ source? A scholarly source is any material that has been produced by an expert in their field, reviewed by other experts in that field, and published for an audience also highly involved in that field. A source is scholarly if the following are true:

  • The source is written with formal language and presented formally
  • The author(s) of the source have an academic background (scientist, professor, etc.).
  • The source includes a bibliography documenting the works cited in the source
  • The source includes original work and analysis, rather than just summary of what’s already out there
  • The source includes evidence from primary sources
  • The source includes a description of the author(s) methods of research.

License

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About Writing: A Guide Copyright © 2015 by Robin Jeffrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.