Biology 101 Concepts of Biology

Characteristics of scholarly or peer-reviewed articles:

• Authors are experts in the subject field. They are authorities in that field of study. Authors are highly educated.
• Articles go through a peer-review process. This is the process where the article is read by recognized researchers in the field and recommend the article for publication in the journal. They look for errors in the article/research.
• Articles are usually reports on scholarly research or case studies.
• Articles cite their sources at the end of the article in the Reference section. 
• Published monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or annually.
• Journals are geared toward scholars, researchers, professionals, and college students.

Some examples of scholarly or peer-reviewed journals:     

• Methods in Ecology & Evolution
• PLoS Biology
• JAMA: Journal of American Medical Association

WCC Research databases to consult (many of the WCC research databases include scholarly journals):  

Your BIO 101 Scholarly Article Review Pre-lab Assignment will focus on the anatomy of a peer-reviewed article. 

• Your BIO 101 instructor will select an article for the lab. 

Article Information to write your APA citation:

1. Title of the Article:
2. Authors:
3. Journal Name:
4. Publication Date:

Article Sections Include: 

1. Abstract
2. Introduction - usually includes a literature review 
3. Methods 
4. Results 
5. Discussion 
6. Conclusion - this section header may not always be included, but the conclusion will be the last one or two paragraphs of the journal article
7. References