Scholarly articles provide the most accurate and reliable research available. If you are unsure if an article is scholarly, ask yourself these questions:

Who wrote the article, and why did they write it? What are the author’s credentials?

Who edits the journal? In a scholarly journal, you will often find the members of the editorial board and their credentials listed near the cover page of the journal.

Who would read this article? Is the article something anyone could easily understand, or would someone with a deep interest in the subject best understand the article? Scholarly articles are written for scholars, not the general reader.

Why was this article written? Scholarly articles are written to advance research in a field. They often present original research and ideas.

Does the author tell you where they got their information? Do they cite their sources? All scholarly articles will have a bibliography.

Still unsure?

• Is it longer than a page or two?
• Is it structured into sections (abstract, introduction, conclusion, bibliography)?
• Do the pictures/graphs support the text, or are they just there for show?

Start your search for articles in these Art Research Databases. Also, see the Research Databases by Subject page and browse Art.