Both scholarly and peer-reviewed articles are written by experts in academic or professional fields. Scholarly articles are published in journals for specific academic disciplines. Many scholarly journals are also peer-reviewed.
Peer-reviewed articles are submitted to reviewers who are experts in the field. Because the reviewers specialize in the same scholarly area as the author, they are considered the author’s peers (hence “peer review”).
Both scholarly and peer-reviewed articles are excellent places to find what has been studied or researched on a topic, as well as find references to additional relevant sources of information.
Many databases offered on the library's website include the full text of articles. Click on the pdf or html icon to download the article.
If full text is not available, click the Find It or 360 Link icons to see if there is access from another source. Look for: or
displayed for each item in the databases offered from the library's website. In Google Scholar, look for Find Full Text @ Oberlin. Access at publisher's websites is generally limited to subscribers.
Full-text is not always accessible for immediate download. The 360 Link may lead to an intermediary page that offers access through Interlibrary loan. If you have trouble, consult library staff.
Concept | Explanation | Example |
---|---|---|
Phrase search (quotes required) | Search for an exact phrase |
"death penalty" "standardized test" |
Truncation | Search for root word with any ending | immigra* (finds immigrant, immigrants, immigration, ect.) |
AND | search for records that include all of the words (fewer results) | race AND poverty |
OR | search for records that include any of the words (more results) | homosexual OR lesbian OR gay OR queer |
NOT | exclude record that include the words (fewer results) | advertising NOT (television OR radio) |