Scholarly journals

What is a scholarly journal?

A scholarly journal publishes high-quality academic or scholarly content that includes original research articles, written by researchers and experts in a particular academic discipline.

Generally, scholarly journals follow the peer review process where manuscripts submitted for publication are evaluated by editors and selected experts (peers).

How can I tell if a journal is scholarly or not?

To determine whether a journal is scholarly, answer the following questions:

Does the journal contain a list of editorial board members in the inside front cover or first few pages of an individual issue?
Does the journal provide information for authors regarding the peer review process?
Does the journal publish articles that offer new theories, report primary results of original research in an academic field, or summarize previous research?
Do articles include the source of information, such as author/date references in the text, footnotes or bibliographies?
Do the journal articles include the name and academic affiliation of the author at the beginning or end of the article? Articles in an academic journal are never anonymous.

Searching

You can locate scholarly journals by conducting a search of the Databases tab available on the UQ Library home page.

Some databases allow you to refine your journal search to include only scholarly journals.

To help determine whether a specific journal is a scholarly publication read the information available for authors on the journal's website. For example: The Journal of Neuroscience provides information regarding manuscript preparation, submission, review and publishing.

Belcher, W.L. (2009). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: a guide to academic publishing success. California: Sage Publications Inc.

Tip

Examining a copy of a journal in your discipline can help you to determine whether it is a scholarly publication. Search the UQ Library catalogue for both print and online publications.