How do I determine if a book is a scholarly book?
How do I determine if a book is a scholarly book?
Answer
Research Central contains both scholarly and non-scholarly publishers. If you are looking for scholarly sources, the following are some questions to answer:
- Is the publisher academic? Books published by a University press are considered academic. Other publishers, such as Wiley, Sage, or others, may be known for publishing textbooks, handbooks, and reference in a particular field and thus are often academic. Google the publisher's name to find more information.
- Are there footnotes or references listed? Scholarly books will have sources to trace the claims they are making? This could be footnotes in a chapter, or could be a bibliography or list of references at the end of the title. A title that has references is more likely to be scholarly than one that has none.
- Is it reviewed in scholarly journals? Visit a database like Academic Search Premier and search for the title of the book along with the word 'reviews'. If a book is reviewed in academic literature, then there is a good chance it is considered scholarly. This may also lead you to other books on that topic!
Finally, feel free to bring a book to a librarian to ask them about the title if you are uncertain. Using scholarly sources will help you to be sure you have quality information to build your ideas and may be required in certain classes.
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