Is a book a scholarly source?
The question if a book is a scholarly source cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. Books are published for different audiences and with different purposes, just as periodicals can be scholarly or popular.
While popular books are written for a broader audience to entertain or advise, scholarly books are specifically written for scholars or researchers in a certain field to share new research findings, contribute to ongoing discussions, or teach new scholars in their field.
The general criteria to identify scholarly sources is valid for books, too. When trying to identify if a book is scholarly, you can use our checklist:
☑️ References
Check if there is a list of cited sources at the end of each chapter or at the end of the book. Scholarly books have a reference list or bibliography.
☑️ Peers
Have other researchers already used the book for their research? You can easily check this by using Google Scholar. Just enter the title of the book, and check in the results page the "Cited by" count.
☑️ Publisher
Who is the publisher? Find out if the publisher is specialized in this field. You can take a look at their website if you are unsure. If the publisher is a University Press, that is a good indicator that it's scholarly, e.g. Oxford University Press or Cambridge University Press.
☑️ Bias
Check if the publisher has any religious or political affiliation. Consider how this could affect the content of the book.
☑️ Author
Google the author to find out who they are and if they have any credentials (e.g. advanced degrees) in their field. Scholarly books are written by expert authors and recognized by other scholars in their field. They are often associated with a university, government agency, or other institution.
☑️ Language
Is the language of the book that of the discipline covered? An expert in a field will write a book using the discipline-specific language of their field. A scholarly book will also be written in a formal tone.
☑️ Content
How is the book written? Look at accuracy, bias, and structure of the book. Is it well structured with an introduction, table of contents, conclusion, and bibliography? Does it contain graphs, charts, and illustrations? All of this points to a scholarly source.
☑️ Editor
Is it an edited book? Sometimes, each chapter of a book will be written by a different author. The editor has to ensure that each chapter meets the publisher's standards, which is a good quality control mechanism.
Frequently Asked Questions about books as a scholarly source
🧗♀️ How is a scholarly source described?
Scholarly sources (also called academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed sources) are written by and for faculty, researchers, or scholars. Scholarly sources can be anything from peer-reviewed journals, books, conference publications, and other sources, either electronic or print-based. These types of sources will provide the most substantial information for your research.
🏇 What are the features of a scholarly source?
Scholarly sources have the following features:
- The authors are scholars or researchers with known affiliations and credentials.
- The language used is academic and complex.
- The article contains full citations to other scholarly sources.
- Scholarly articles are often peer-reviewed by specialists.
- The publisher is a scholarly press with editorial reviews.
- The intended audience is other faculty, researchers, or scholars.
🏊 Is a book a scholarly source?
The question if a book is a scholarly source cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. Books are published for different audiences and with different purposes, just as periodicals can be scholarly or popular.
🤸♀️ What is the criteria to identify a book as a scholarly source?
The aspects you have to evaluate to recognize a book as a scholarly source are: references, peers, publisher, bias, author, language, content, and editor.
🚵♂️ If the book is a non-scholarly source, can I still use it?
If you evaluate a book and conclude that it is not a scholarly source, you should not use it in your paper. However, that also depends on the scope of your research and rules at your institution. Make sure to check with your supervisor first if using non-scholarly sources is allowed.
