Ways to identify scholarly articles:

• Look for common characteristics of scholarly works, such as
  • Easily identifiable author names and author affiliation
  • An abstract, introduction, methodology, conclusions
  • Citation of others' works
  • A complete list of references
• Determine if the article is written by a scholar in the subject area and written for other researchers (rather than the general public)
• Review the journal's home page for a description of the types of articles accepted for publication and whether articles are "peer reviewed/refereed"

Find books at OSU & elsewhere with OSU Libraries 1Search:

• search for books and more located at Valley library and OSU's other libraries
• determine if OSU subscribes to a journal in print or electronically
• search libraries in Oregon, Washington and throughout the world
• if OSU does not, request the item to be delivered to OSU in 3-5 business days from a regional library (may take longer if the library gets a copy from outside the region)

Questions about 1Search? Go here!

 

Locating articles:

If the full-text of the article does not appear in the database, click the 360 Link to Full Text button to determine if OSU has a paper copy or an electronic copy of the journal. If we don't, request the article from InterLibrary Loan (Free!).

OSU's Writing Center Make an appointment or review their online help. 

Many sites can guide you in using MLA. Especially helpful is Purdue's OWL site.

Take a practice quiz to learn more about how to and why we cite.

Check out these suggestions for determining if your journal article or book is scholarly.

Not all but many journal articles have a similar structure. Understanding this structure may facilitate your understanding, interpretation and analysis of the author(s)' writing. This web site details a common structure that authors use:
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/reading/1d.html.