PAID 112 Section 12 - Thompson (Spring 2025)
Characteristics of Scholarly Articles
Scholarly articles are academic essays that:
- are written by and for academics and professionals in scholarly language specific to their profession or field
- include footnotes and a list of citations at the end of the article
- appear in academic journals or book-length collections of scholarly essays
Article Formats
Depending on the database you are using, articles may be displayed in different formats:
- Full-text: Includes an electronic copy of the actual article in HTML or .pdf format (this displays the article as it originally appeared in the magazine with graphics and pictures), or both.
- Abstract: Includes only the article’s citation information (e.g. author, title, date, volume, etc.) and a brief summary of the article's content.
- Index: Includes only the article’s citation information.
Recommended databases for your section
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Academic Search Elite (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
An excellent starting point for research across a broad stretch of academic subjects with thousands of full-text journals and abstracted and indexed journals. This database is sourced with PDF images for the great majority of journals; many of these PDFs are native (searchable) or scanned-in-color. -
America: History & Life (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Indexes scholarly journal articles, books, and dissertations in the history of U.S. and Canada from prehistory to the present.
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Historical Abstracts (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Subjects: history of the world from 1450 to present excluding the U.S. and Canada. Citations and abstracts for journal articles, books, and dissertations published 1955 – present.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new window
A full-text collection of over 3,400 major scholarly journals and over 100,000 scholarly monographs. The digitized archive includes the first issue published for each journal (some are from 1665 to the present); but excludes the most recent 2 to 5 years for most journals. -
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Full text access is available to over 380 journals and over 13,000 scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences. Managed by the Johns Hopkins University Press. Coverage from 1993 - present. -
PsycInfo & PsycArticles (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Search journal articles, books, and dissertations in psychology and related fields. Full text and indexed records. Published by the American Psychological Association. 1806-present. -
SocINDEX with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowProvides citations and abstracts for journals, books,and conference papers for subjects relating to sociology. Contains full text for over 700 journals, nearly 800 monographs, and over 9,000 conference papers
Tips: Helpful Limiters
TIP: Limit to Peer Reviewed
Under "Content Type," select "Peer Reviewed" to limit to articles which have been reviewed by peers in the field before accepted for publication.
TIP: Limit to Scholarly
A scholarly article is written by an academic or professional researcher and is published in a scholarly journal. Scholarly articles can present original research or summarize existing research in that scholar's field.
TIP: Full Text
As you're searching databases, you'll want to know if we have access to the full article. You may be able to apply a Full Text filter to your search. Otherwise, look for the words PDF Full Text, Linked Full Text, or View External Full Text - there are a few variations depending on the database. If there's no full text option, look for the phrase Request through Interlibrary Loan.
