ZOOL101 - Introduction to Zoology - Martin

What is a journal?

• Scholarly journals exist to disseminate new & important information within an academic discipline or professional fiel.
• Journal articles are written by experts who work within these disciplines and fields
• Journal articles are aimed at an audience of other experts within that discipline or field
• Journals often contain studies and experiments

How can I identify a journal?

Look for: 

• Author credentials such as advanced degrees and professional/academic affiliations
• Articles that are often substantially longer than articles in magazines and newspapers
• Heavy use of discipline-specific vocabulary and concepts. 
• Extensive bibliographies of cited sources.

Where does peer review fit into all of this?

Peer review is a process that some  scholarly journal publishers use to ensure the articles they publish represent the best scholarship currently available. Peer-reviewed journals are sometimes called "refereed" journals. When an article is submitted to a peer-reviewed/refereed journal, the editors send it out to other scholars in the same field to get their opinion on the quality of the scholarship and its relevance and importance to the field. This means that when an article is finally published in a peer-reviewed publication, there is a consensus among experts that the information communicated in that article is of the highest quality.

Not all scholarly publications are peer-reviewed, though it is very common for professors to request peer-reviewed articles to ensure you are exposed to the most credible information within your discipline.

Journals sound intense!

The specific nature of journal articles, combined with the use of specialized vocabulary, means they are not always easy to read for the non-expert. It it is recommended that students have some basic knowledge about their topic before delving into scholarly information. This basic knowledge might be gleaned, for instance, from some of our Background Information databases.

Definitions of what is primary or secondary differs across the disciplines. For the sciences, this is how we would define the different types of sources:

Primary source literature in the sciences:

• documents the results of original research

• is written by those who have conducted the research

• includes firsthand information about their methodologies, data, results, or conclusions.

Secondary source literature in the sciences:

• summarizes, compares, critiques, or interprets the primary literature.

Tertiary sources in the sciences:

• are collections of primary and/or secondary sources.

Characteristics of primary sources in the sciences include:

• Report original research, ideas, or scientific discoveries for the first time

• Report results/findings/data from experiments or research studies

• May also be referred to as primary research, primary articles, or research studies

• DO NOT include meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or literature reviews - these are secondary sources

• Are frequently found in peer-reviewed or scholarly journals

• Should explain the research methodology used (randomized controlled trial, etc)

• Frequently include methods, results, and discussion sections

• Are factual, not interpretive