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EXER 377 -- Research Methods in Exercise Science

Use this guide to identify a topic for research, develop your research design, and locate resources and strategies for your literature review.

How can I Tell if a Journal is Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed?

Academic journal (or scholarly journal). Audience, who is it written for? Scholars, researchers, & students. Author, who writes the articles? Scholar with a subject expertise; credentials are usually listed. Citations, can I double check their facts and/or statistics? Citations are required so that facts can be verified. Level, do they use specialized language? Do I need a prior understanding of the topic? Specialized language is used; prior knowledge is generally needed. Example: Sports Medicine. Magazine (or popular journal). Audience. General public. Author. Journalist, nonprofessional, or layperson; may be unknown. Citations. May or may not include citations. Level. Written for the general public; no specialized terminology. Example: Fitness. Trade Publication. Audience. Those working in specific trade occupations. Author. People in the field or industry; may be unknown. Citations. May or may not include citations. Level. Industry specific terminology. Example: Modern Healthcare.

Is my Academic/Scholarly journal article peer reviewed?

To be considered peer reviewed, a scholarly article must go through an additional step when submitted for publication. Each article is sent out to (usually two) other researchers in the field for blind review at which time the article can be accepted as is, accepted pending changes, or rejected.

How to Tell if a Book is Scholarly

Here are some basic guidelines to help you determine if a book is scholarly:

 

Author

The name of the author(s) should be listed, as well as their credentials.

Typically scholarly authors will have some form of subject specialty (such as professor of religion, CEO of a Fortune 500 company, etc). Note: Having a Ph.D. in one field does not make someone an expert in another.


Citations

Scholarly books should include notes and/or a bibliography of their sources.

Also, look at the types of sources cited; are they appropriate for the topic?
Publisher Was the book published by a university or other scholarly press (such as Sage or Elsevier)?