Centennial Library databases contain thousands of articles, both academic/peer-reviewed articles and popular articles, but which type is right for your assignment and how do you tell the difference? Read on to learn more!
Academic, scholarly, or peer-reviewed articlesThese articles appear in academic journals, usually published by universities or professional organizations. They contain extensive citations and evidence to support original research. "Peer-review" is an extra step some scholarly journals require for publication. During peer-review, an article is read and reviewed by a panel of experts who make suggestions for clarity and improvement. Once requested changes are made, the article is published. In college, you are often asked to use scholarly/peer-reviewed articles since they contain lots of evidence and have been reviewed by experts. You can limit your search to peer-reviewed sources only by clicking "Peer-Reviewed Journals" under the "Availability" drop-down.
Popular sources include newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. These types of articles are written by staff writers or journalists and generally do not contain the same level of review as scholarly sources. When using these sources, be mindful of the author's experience, the publisher, and any other details that may bias the reporting. While these articles are usually not as thorough as academic articles, they still contain valuable information! This is especially true when you want to know public opinion or general news about a topic. Search for news articles by using the Newspapers Search function on the library website.
Sometimes, searching using the main library search platform, Page 1+, may give you too many results. While searching Page 1+, you are actually searching across hundreds of databases at the same time. If you are having difficulty narrowing down your search, trying searching a smaller database! This way, you will be searching across a smaller pool of resources that are related to a specific field of study or topic.
Databases relevant to EAPP students include:
