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Intensive English 074/104 Academic Writing

This guide will direct you to resources to help you complete library assignments

Scholarly Journals: How Can You Tell?

Is it scholarly? Use the clues!

Articles in scholarly, academic journals go through a review process before publication. Before an article is published, the manuscript is sent out to editors or reviewers, experts in the field, who review it for quality. It is this peer-review process that guarantees the information is reliable, accurate, and authoritative.

Key Points

  • Scholarly articles are more authoritative to use.
  • Scholarly articles usually
    • include an abstract.
    • use technical or specialized vocabulary.
    • are lengthy.
    • are written by an authority.
    • include references/bibliographies.
  • Not all articles in a scholarly journal are scholarly, such as letters to the editor, opinion pieces, regular and/or guest columns.

Scholarly, Popular, or Trade

Check out this guide for more information about scholarly, popular and trade publications!

Interlibrary Loan

Books not owned by Mabee Library may be borrowed from another library using a service called "interlibrary loan." This service is free to all Washburn students, faculty, and staff. Requests are usually available after 2-3 days for electronic items and one week for paper items. Follow the link below to sign up or sign in to your ILL account.

Finding Articles from a Citation

To find articles from a citation, search for the name of the journal in Encore, the library catalog, then follow the link provided to the full-text article.

Here is a citation to use for practice. Does Mabee Library provide print and/or electronic access to this article?

Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986) Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.

Finding Articles on Microfilm/Microfiche

To find articles in microfilm and microfiche format, search Encore, the library catalog, by the name of the newspaper, magazine or journal. The record will show a WU Mabee Microfilm or WU Mabee Microfiche location.

The microfilm and microfiche file cabinets are located on the 1st floor along the east wall in filing cabinets and in the rotating shelves. The file cabinet drawers are labeled in alphabetical order by the title of the publication.

There are two reader/printer machines also along the north wall on the 1st floor which may be used to view and/or print the articles. You may print the articles for free.