Scholarly sources are works that contain well-sourced, original research and meet the established standards of their discipline. Generally, these sources:

• do not duplicate work that has already been done by other scholars
• present a worthwhile approach to the topic
• exist as part of a standing conversation on the topic, as represented by its citations to other scholarship
• meet the above and other standards of the discipline, as generally agreed upon by scholars of the discipline

Scholarly sources can appear in a variety of formats, but most often you will find them as books, book chapters, and journal articles. 

A good place to find scholarly sources is  Google Scholar.

Google and Google Scholar are separate search engines. While we discourage you from citing webpages and other resources discovered through a Google search, those discovered through Google Scholar are much more likely to be peer reviewed. But "much more likely" does not mean that they always are. Just remember that you will have better results if you use a subject-specific database.

"Peer review" is a key term to know when looking for scholarly sources: If a journal is "Peer reviewed," that means the articles published in that journal were reviewed by an anonymous panel of other scholars, and the panel objectively verified the high level of scholarship in the article.Peer-reviewed journals are an excellent source for scholarly research articles. 

For more, see the Peer Review guide.

Wikipedia makes certain efforts at reliability that search engines like Google do not, including its own system of peer-review.  Still, Wikipedia has different priorities than an academic peer-reviewed resource, and therefore it shouldn't be used in place of an academic source.  Wikipedia's design trades absolute reliability for convenience and quick updating.  You can never be certain that what you read on Wikipedia doesn't include misinformation that has yet to be corrected. Likewise, while Wikipedia does include a system for citation and the editorial evaluation of its entries, its real-time and open updating means that you can never be absolutely certain you're reading good information.

But perhaps most important is the fact that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia.  Encyclopedias are general information sources best used for gaining a quick overview of a topic and finding a list of resources and topics to guide you in further exploration.  Encyclopedia articles generally avoid controversy, and the low level of detail provided by an encyclopedia is not going to be sufficient for your academic work.

For more information, see these Wikipedia entries on the Academic use of Wikipedia and the Reliability of Wikipedia.

There are several ways to connect to Library resources in your browser. Use the Connecting to Library Resources from Off-campus to find out about them.

Library Easy Search is a good place to search for known items but not for beginning a research project as it does not search ALL Library databases. A better option is to search in subject-specific databases lists on Library guides.

Properly citing sources is part of research. The Library offers online access to the  MLA Handbook and the Chicago Manuel of  Style. For more, go to the "Library guide Citing Sources.

• MLA Handbook Plus This link opens in a new window

  The MLA Handbook is the only official, authorized book on MLA format. The ninth edition builds on the MLA’s unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements—facts, common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date—that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, YouTube videos, dissertations, and more.

• Chicago Manual of Style

The Library also has guides to popular citation management systems: