RECR110: Introduction to Recreation: In the Research

Finding a Scholarly Article in the TC3 Library Databases

Step 1: Select a topic

• Anything related to recreation, leisure, exercise, etc. Prof. Mercer has given some good suggestions in the assignment. 

Step 2: Search for your topic in a TC3 Library Databases

The library has several databases that will be useful for this assignment, but the two best are OneSearch and Academic Search Ultimate. Click below to start in either:

• OneSearch (all available databases at once)
• Academic Search Ultimate

Step 3: Limit to Peer-Reviewed Journals or Academic Journals or Scholarly Journals

Different databases use different terminology; they all mean the same thing. You can limit your search results to see only these types of articles. You can see how to limit in the boxes below.

Step 4: Download the Full Text of your article

Just clicking the link on the list of results won't be enough. Download the Full Text PDF when the option is available.

Scholarly or Peer-Reviewed Articles in OneSearch

If you are using the OneSearch tab on the TC3 Library site, there is an easy way to tell whether an articles is scholarly or peer-reviewed. Under each article you will see a little purple icon that says PEER REVIEWED. Here is an example: 

You can also filter your results so you only see scholarly or peer-reviewed articles. Click the Peer-Reviewed Journals box on the left side of the screen under Availability and click Apply: 

Scholarly of Peer-Reviewed Articles in EBSCO (Articles Tab)

If you use the Articles Tab to do your research, that will take you into the EBSCO system. In EBSCO, scholarly or peer-reviewed articles are called Academic Journals, indicated by an icon on the search results. Here is what it looks like:

And just like in OneSearch, you can filter to show only Academic Journals. Click the box on the left that says Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals:

Ask Us!

If you are ever not sure whether an articles, is scholarly. Just Ask a Librarian!

If an article has been peer-reviewed, that means other experts in the field read drafts of the article to be sure it met high academic and research standards.  Peer-reviewed articles tend to be written on a very narrowly focused topic, use highly specialized terminology, and be rather long.  

Scholarly articles can be peer-reviewed, but aren't always.  They are written by experts and are considered reliable sources, and may be just as long and as narrowly focused as peer-reviewed articles.

Most library databases have features built in to help us focus on finding scholarly and peer-reviewed articles.  Look in the right or left margins in your database search results for options to narrow your search.  Usually, it's a matter of checking off a box.  A few examples are below.