Scholarly articles in Philosophy (just like other disciplines) are written by experts in the field and published in peer-reviewed journals. Most likely, they will be focused on one aspect-- a concept, theory, Philosophical work, or Philosopher; and, the author will use a focused inquiry to interrogate that aspect.
Scholarly journals can found in any of the databases below. Use your keywords to be specific about the articles you are looking for.
Scholarly journals, sometimes called academic or professional journals, are specialized periodicals that publish articles for study and research. They are written for the academic audience--scholars, professors, and students --in a particular subject area. Many of them are published by universities or scholarly organizations. You won't find these periodicals on the magazine display in stores!
Scholarly journals are periodicals (like magazines and newspapers) because they have new issues appearing at regular intervals, but usually only 3 or 4 times a year. That's why you often see words like "winter 2013" in a listing of journal articles.
Many scholarly journals have a system of peer review. This means that before articles are published, they must first be reviewed by a group of scholars who make sure that the article meets high standards for study and research in the subject area.
Not all scholarly journals have the actual word journal in their title. So how do you know which ones are actual scholarly journals? Use this quick guide called "Magazines vs.Scholarly Journals
The best way to locate articles on specific topics in philosophy is to use electronic indexes that cover the journals. Here are the ones you will want to use:
Academic Search Ultimate offers access to an unprecedented collection of resources including journals, magazines, reports, books, and videos. Many are peer-reviewed and full-text. Subjects range from astronomy to zoology.
In most cases, the complete article will be linked right from the citation in the database.
If there's no link to the complete article, use the yellow button to discover how to obtain the full article. The article could be in another online database, in paper format in the library, or available through Interlibrary Loan.
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