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Basic Research Strategies for the Social Sciences: Scholarly vs. Non-scholarly Articles

Basic research skills and resources in psychology, sociology and other disciplines of the social sciences. Research skills include: evaluating sources,finding and identifying journal articles, statistical information and websites.

Periodical Comparison Table

Authors	Editors	Audience	Language	Sources	Advertising	Examples
Journalists	On staff	General public	Non-technical, brief	Quotes and facts often attributed in text; citations rare	Common, diverse	New York Times, Globe & Mail, (Toronto, CA), Chicago Tribune

Authors	Editors	Audience	Language	Sources	Advertising	Examples
Journalists	On staff	General public	Non-technical, consumer-focused	Quotes and facts often attributed in text; citations rare	Common, diverse	Entertainment Weekly, Time, Good Housekeeping

Authors	Editors	Audience	Language	Sources	Advertising	Examples
Practitioners in field	On staff	General public	Moderately technical vocabulary	Quotes and facts often attributed in text; citations rare	Selective, industry-focused	Brandweek, Restaurant Business, Architect, Automotive Industries

Authors	Editors	Audience	Language	Sources	Advertising	Examples
Scholars, researchers, experts in field	Referees/ Peer Reviewers	Scholars, researchers, experts in field	Academic language and tone; technical vocabulary	Bibliographies and reference lists; footnotes and in-text citations	Rare, focused on related journals and conferences	Journal of African American Studies, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Active Learning in Higher Education

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article

Anatomy of a scholarly article
Presented by NC State University Libraries, this interactive display shows the parts of a research article. Mouse over and click on the different parts to reveal information about each section.

Elements of a Scholarly Article

Elements of a Scholarly Article
Name of Section	Function	Relevant to
Abstract	Brief summary of the article.	Readers making decisions about whether the article might apply to their own research.
Author Bios	Research Institution and department the author is affiliated with and possibly contact information.	Readers can decide to research other works by a particular author or try to contact the author about their research.
Introduction	Gives context and background.	Readers learn more about the authors' reasons for taking on this research.
Literature Review	Analyzes, responds to, and/or identifies gaps in related research.	Readers want to learn more about the scholarly conversation to which authors are contributing.
Methods/Results	Outlines how the research was done and the results found.	Those who want to validate, replicate, or adapt the authors' research.
Discussion	Reflects on the implications of the research.	Readers want to learn about the potential impact of the research.
In-text Citations/References	In-Text Citations - References found in the text of the article if sources are quoted, summarized or paraphrased. References -List of works cited by the authors in the article.	In-text Citations -to help readers easily find sources in the References or Cited Works page that corresponds to the referenced passage (MLA Style Guide). References - Information necessary for the reader to locate and retrieve any source the authors have cited in the body of the article.
Appendices	Supplemental materials, including examples of instruments, such as charts, or data-sets that may have been used as part of the research.	Those who may want to adapt these materials for their own uses.

Source: University of Albany, University Libraries –Common Elements of a Scholarly Article