A selection of key journals on this topic, both Australian and international, are provided below. These journals are available electronically unless otherwise stated. Some electronic journals may also be available in print.
The library provides access to thousands of journal articles, both print and electronic. You can also find many articles on the internet, however it can be difficult to gauge the quality of these. It is important to evaluate what you find to ensure you are using acceptable resources.
Scholarly/academic sources are written by academics and other experts. They contribute to knowledge in a particular field by sharing new research findings, theories/analyses, or summaries of current knowledge. They are written for an academic audience, not the general public. They should include a list of their references.
A bibliography shows the sources used by the writer and helps trace the 'evolution' of ideas. The reader can examine those sources to evaluate the validity of the conclusions presented. Bibliographies are also a useful source of further references to use when you're writing.
Some journal articles also go through a process called peer-review, where other experts in that field examine and approve the article, and suggest improvements, before it is published. These are often considered of the highest quality due to this rigorous process.
Peer review can be a lengthy process, so peer reviewed commentary on current events may be difficult to locate. Note that there are many high-quality scholarly/academic resources that are not peer-reviewed.
A first-hand account from someone who was directly involved. These could be, for example, letters, diaries, court documents, manuscripts, patents, etc. but these may not qualify as a scholarly resource. Check with your lecturer whether primary sources are acceptable.
Literature that meets these criteria is often academic:
Articles from these publications are often NOT academic:
BUT, there are no absolute rules, you need to exercise critical judgement.
And while magazines, newspapers and websites are not usually considered ‘academic’ or ‘scholarly’ in this sense, they can often still be useful for your research. Monash Library provides access to many magazines and newspapers, which have been selected because of their high editorial standards and fact-checking processes.
Your assessment instructions may require you to use information only from scholarly or peer reviewed journals. Here are some tips to find them:
The more marks in the 'Yes' column, the more likely the article or paper is to be acceptable for academic purposes.
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
1 Source of Content: |
||
| A. Are sources cited or references provided in the source? (i.e. in-text or footnotes and a reference list or bibliography indicating where information and ideas were taken from). A source without references is not a scholarly source. | ||
| B. Is the source an in-depth treatment of its subject (usually several pages long with a lot of detailed information and in-depth analysis)? | ||
| C. Does the source have an argument or claim it’s trying to prove, or a conclusion drawn from the research? Most scholarly sources have a claim they are trying to prove, or a conclusion drawn from the research. | ||
| D. Does the source incorporate original research? Most scholarly sources are a combination of original research and analysis of earlier research, though in some cases they just review, summarise or analyse earlier research. | ||
2. Information about the publisher of the source: |
||
| A. Is the source published by a university, or by a scholarly professional organisation? | ||
| B. If your source is an article, is the journal it was published in peer-reviewed or refereed by other experts in the field? | ||
| C. Is the title of the source descriptive and specific? Scholarly sources usually have more informative titles than non-scholarly sources. An example of a very specific title might be "Understanding the social context of violent and aggressive incidents on an inpatient unit," whereas an example of a general title might be "The Medicated Child." | ||
| D. Is the title of the source specialised? Titles of scholarly sources are usually addressed to specialised audiences. | ||
3. The authors of the source: |
||
| A. Is the author a scholar/expert/specialist in the field? Does the author have an advanced degree in their field? (Journals often provide descriptions of the author's credentials at the start of the source or in a separate "Notes on Contributors" section.) | ||
| B. Is the author affiliated with a university? Scholarly sources are usually written by professors at universities. Authors' affiliations are often listed at the beginning of the source, right after the author's name. | ||
| C. Have the authors declared any conflict of interest or bias? For example, a conflict of interest would be a person who wrote a source on the benefits of smoking, but works for a tobacco company. | ||
4. The audience of the source: |
||
| A. Is the source addressed to other specialists in the field? Scholarly sources are usually addressed to other specialists in the field. This might take the form of assuming the reader knows what the issues, debates, controversies or questions in the field are. | ||
| B. Does the author of the source write as if the reader already knows the basics of the topic? Scholarly sources usually assume familiarity with the topic. This might take the form of mentioning names, titles, or ideas as though the reader already knows who or what they are. | ||
5. The language and appearance of the source: |
||
| A. Is the language of the source specialised? Does it use technical vocabulary or concepts? Scholarly sources usually use specialised or technical language. | ||
| B. Is the tone of the source serious, written to inform or persuade, not to entertain or amuse? | ||
| C. Does the source, and the journal in which it appears, consist mainly of large blocks of text, with few graphics or other visual elements to break it up? Most scholarly sources are primarily text, unless they include graphics whose purpose is to convey information, such as charts and graphs. | ||
| D. Is the format plain and simple? | ||
| E. Are the graphics included to inform rather than entertain? | ||