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Research Terms Defined

Journals Academic journals are important resources for information. They contain original research and studies conducted by scholars, researchers, or practitioners in a specific field. Academic journals are considered to contain the most authoritative information within the different disciplines. They are published on a regular basis.
Peer-Reviewed Articles Peer-Reviewed articles contain original articles written by scholars within the different fields. Before an article is published, the work has been put through an extensive review process to ensure that the information provided is based on solid evidence and scientific studies. Many peer-reviewed articles are found within the databases.
Scholarly Articles Scholarly articles are original, research papers written by experts within the different fields. They are usually similarly structured, and contain: Abstract, Introduction, Method, Discussion, Results, Conclusion, and References. The language used is specific to the discipline and the intended audience is other researchers within the same discipline.
Database A database is a source of organized, searchable information or data. Databases can contain academic journals, peer-reviewed articles, newspapers, dissertations, e-books, reports, conference proceedings, government legislation, and much more. Databases require specific searching with keywords and concepts. Examples: Academic Search Complete, ProQuest, Science Direct
Citation Citation allows you to give proper credit to an author and prevents plagiarism.
Empirical Research Articles Empirical studies use data derived from actual observation or experiment. Original research papers that describe empirical studies and their results are published in academic journals. Many are peer-reviewed.

Where to Start

Find general or introductory material on a subject:

For in-depth analysis of current and controversial issues, try CQ Researcher:

Learning to Research

Quick Tips to navigating the library and finding quality resources for research papers.

Have a clear, narrow focus for your topic
Pull out several keywords that you can use to search
Do background research for general information or previous research done on your topic
Browse the library catalog for books on your topic
Search the library databases for scholarly articles on your topic
Keep track of ALL resources with citations so that you can easily create your references or bibliography section