World Religions

Simply put, databases were created to help you find credible information easily and quickly. 

Students love databases because they are as easy to search as the Web: you simply type your search terms into a box and press a button that says search. Also, databases are available from any computer connected to the Internet, and can be accessed virtually any time of the day or night. This is very convenient for students with full schedules, jobs, and families.

Instructors love databases because the quality of information contained within them is often superior to what students find on the Web. Databases connect researchers to edited, evaluated, and published sources.

Learn more about the difference between using article databases and the free Web in this short video below:

Use the databases below to locate articles from magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals (including peer-reviewed titles). 

What is a Journal?

• Scholarly journals exist to share new and important knowledge within an academic discipline or professional field.
• Articles are written by experts (researchers, professors, practitioners).
• The audience is other experts in that discipline or field.
• Articles often report on original studies, experiments, or theoretical work.
• Journals look different from magazines: they focus on advancing knowledge, not on entertainment or general interest.

Here are a few examples: 

• Journal of the American Medical Association

• Journal of Social Work Practice

How can I identify a journal?

Look for these features:

• Author credentials: advanced degrees, academic or professional affiliations.

• Length and depth: often longer and more detailed than magazine or newspaper articles.

• Discipline-specific language: technical terms and concepts.

• References: extensive bibliographies citing other scholarly sources.

Where Does Peer Review Fit into the Picture?

Peer review is a quality-check process used by many scholarly journals.

• When an author submits an article, journal editors send it to other experts (“peers”) in the field.

• These reviewers evaluate the research’s quality, accuracy, and importance before it can be published.

• Peer-reviewed journals are sometimes called refereed journals.

Why it matters:

• Peer review helps ensure the article represents high-quality scholarship and contributes meaningfully to the field.

• Not all scholarly journals use peer review, but professors often require peer-reviewed sources because they’re among the most credible.

Because journal articles use specialized vocabulary and assume the reader has extensive background knowledge, they can be tough for non-experts to read. That's why it helps to build some foundational knowledge first. Do some preliminary reading in encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, and websites to front-load your knowledge. That way you'll have the context and vocabulary you need to work through the articles. 

Watch this brief video to better understand the peer-review process.

Learn to filter databases to find peer-reviewed articles

Use the videos below to see how easy it is to find academic journal articles in two of our most used databases.

Use EBSCOhost Databases to Find Academic Journal Articles

Searching for Academic Articles in Gale Databases