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Communication Disorders 6315: Research in Communication Disorders

Research in Communication Disorders

Scholarly Articles

You should only use scholarly articles for this research assignment.

Scholarly articles are found in journals, not magazines. They are written by experts for experts

But not everything in a journal is scholarly, such as:

  • letters to the editor
  • editorials
  • book reviews

See more information about recognizing scholarly articles in Types of Periodicals.

Databases - Scholarly Articles Only

Some databases only contain (or index) journal articles.  Therefore, you will not have to verify that articles are scholarly in those databases.  Examples include:

Scholarly Articles: Using Results List - Discover

If you search for articles using Discover, check the box for Scholarly Articles.  It will automatically search for scholarly, peer-reviewed journals.

The search results will show the facet Peer-reviewed Journals is being used to filter the search results.

Using Ulrich's - Search the Database Yourself

The Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory is a comprehensive international list of online and print journals, magazines, newspapers.

You may directly search the title of a "serial" publication in Ulrichsweb to be 100% certain that it is a scholarly journal.

Read the Basic Description for information on Serial Type/Content Type.  It is a scholarly journal if it states:

  • Serial type:  Journal
  • Content type:  Academic Scholarly


Peer-reviewed journals are considered the most authoritative of scholarly journals.  The articles are reviewed by experts who specialize in the same scholarly area as the author.  A publication is "peer reviewed" if it states:

  • Refereed:  Yes

A trade journal may be reputable, but it is NOT a scholarly journal.  Even if the word "journal" is in the name of a publication, it is NOT necessarily a scholarly journal.

A trade newspaper may be reputable, but it is not a scholarly journal.