A scholarly (or academic) journals is one that is written by experts in the field. To publish in an academic journal requires authors to submit their articles for peer-review. Peer-review is rigorous process in which an author's research paper undergoes scrutiny from other experts in the same field. Reviewers assess the paper for originality, validity, and significance. One such example is the Journal of Architectural Education (listed below).
A popular journal is one that is written for the general public. All articles are edited by an editor but it does not contain a peer-review process. One such is example is National Geographic, while it is a quality source of information, it does not meet the criteria for a scholarly source.
To watch a video tutorial on Popular v. Scholarly Publications, click here.
To watch a video tutorial on the Peer Review Process, click here.
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An Electronic Journal (or E-journal) is a traditional journal that is in an electronic format; either because it was originally created that way, or because someone took a print journal article and scanned it to make it available electronically.
A Database is what is created when a large number of electronic journals are put in one place and a search interface (usually a search box) is added to help find what you need. Both databases and electronic journals can be subject specific. When you have a database that only has the title or abstract, but not the full text, it is usually referred to as an Index.
Here are some leading Social Work journals which are available online through the FAU Libraries. For a complete list, click here.
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