HSCI 2010: Intro to Health Science Professions

Is it scholarly? A checklist: 

• Was the article peer reviewed?

  • If the article is in a journal, you can see what the journal's standards for peer review are

  • Check the article type:

    • studies based on original research are often peer reviewed

    • letters, opinions, and reviews may not be peer reviewed, even if in a journal that uses peer review

• Was the article published in a journal?

  • Usually you can find this information at the top or bottom of the page, in the corners or near the page numbers

  • Most journals have websites where you can see more information about what criteria they use to decide what to publish

• Does the article list the author's or authors' credentials and workplace? 

  • Look by the authors' names, or around the authors' names for footnotes

  • Check online outside of the article to see if the credentials/workplace are accurate

    • Ex: search an author's name and see if the school they claim to work at has a faculty page for them

• Is there an abstract, methodology, or other typical paper sections?

  • Scholarly articles tend to have standard sections, especially in STEM fields like medicine and health science

  • A methodology (or methods) section should include information on whether an article is based on original, scholarly, research (making it a primary source) or other studies (which would be a secondary or possibly tertiary source)

• Is there a (somewhat lengthy) works cited list? 

  • Scholarly articles will always have a reference or works cited list. Unlike newspaper or magazine articles, these tend to be rather long

What does it mean when we say an article is "scholarly"?

A scholarly article is created by researchers for researchers. Its formatting and design reflects this purpose. The results, methods, and conclusions of the article are laid out consistently for easy reading by experts, and the language of the article tends to be technical and designed to speak to other experts in the field.

Are all scholarly articles reliable? 

No, even with the peer review process in place, scholarly articles can still be flawed, poorly conducted, and biased. If you are unsure about whether an article fits the needs of your project you can always contact your professor or a librarian.

Source: Journal of Dermatological Treatment

Target Audience

• Scholars (people doing research)
• Other experts (health care professionals)

Goals

• Convey results of study or research
• Make clear what they found out
• Make clear how they conducted their research
• Make clear any limitations or issues with the research
• Indicate what they think experts should do based on what they saw in their study

Features

• Plain, unexciting formatting
• Scientific graphs and tables
• Pictures designed to emphasize results, not to be interesting or pretty
• A named author, with their affiliation (where they work) listed somewhere in the article
• References - this shows the author has done their research. 
• Clear sections (Intro, Methodology, Results, Conclusions) - these help experts find the information they're looking for quickly when they need to make a decision. 
• The name of the journal it is in (look at the top and bottom of the page) along with the volume/issue number. 

Source: Harper's Bazaar 

Target Audience

• General Public

Goals

• Get attention
• Say something interesting
• Raise awareness
• Be visually and verbally exciting

Features

• Glossy, fun, exciting, or beautiful photos
• Fun fonts and layouts
• Easy to read and understand for anyone
• Comes from a magazine or newspaper