Library Research Guides: Geography: Databases

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Look for the following:

An Abstract is at the beginning of the article. This is a summary of the researchers/authors' study methods, arguments, conclusions, and more.
Author(s) - Scholarly articles often have two or more authors. The authors' credentials, affiliations, and other information is usually listed on first page of the article, under the title or sometimes on the last page of article.
Headings/Sections in the article include:
- Introduction -- Usually one paragraph, sometimes more, describing the subject of the article
- Methodology -- Provides information about how data was collected, what data was gathered, and who participated in the study
- Discussion/Results -- Offers information about the results of the study and what was learned
- Conclusion -- Summarizes the findings of the research/study and any recommendations or limitations of the study
- References/Bibliography -- Detailed list of references used in the research is generally found at the end of the article
Technical/Specialized Language - Scholarly articles are generally written in formal, technical language.
Charts, Graphs, Diagrams, etc. - Scholarly articles are often communicating results of studies and research and so will include charts, graphs, diagrams, and other visual aids.
Length - Scholarly articles are usually relatively long; often they are four pages or more.