Academic Literature

Academic literature is the primary source of information and a key component of the learning process in graduate studies. Graduate programs require students to read, interpret, and use published peer-reviewed, scholarly materials to formulate arguments, support research, and draw upon the findings and suggestions of professionals in their fields of study. By contrast, undergraduates are often permitted to use less rigorous forms of resources or rely upon personal experience or the experiences of others in order to grasp conceptual information.

Literature can be classified broadly into three categories: (a) popular literature, (b) trade literature, and (c) academic, peer-reviewed, scholarly, primary literature. Popular literature (e.g., People, Newsweek) is written for the general public and typically contains pictures, interview quotations, and material of general interest to a wide readership. The purpose of popular literature is to inform and entertain. Popular literature rarely contains references to other material.

Trade literature is written for targeted special interest audiences (e.g., Quality Progress, Aviation Week). This type of literature is focused on content and contains generalized information of interest only to the audience for which it is intended. Trade literature may be written at a high level of sophistication, depending on the intended audience, but often mirrors popular literature by lacking cited references in the text of the articles.
Academic literature is written for academic audiences and is critically evaluated by members of the professional community prior to publication (e.g., Academy of Management Review, Research in Higher Education, American Psychologist, Science). Manuscripts that are logically inconsistent, rely on sketchy data, demonstrate poor interpretation of data, or do not incorporate other research references typically are not published in quality academic journals. The purpose of academic literature is to report research findings and to further theoretical and/or conceptual development in a specific content area. This type of literature always includes in-text citations or notes to document the source of the information and the complete citation for each resource is listed in a reference section at the end of the paper.

Excellent electronic journal publications, which are peer-reviewed research journals in electronic format, should not be confused with website publications. Materials posted on websites are appropriate starting points for research because they stimulate the creative process, but website materials are generally not appropriate to use as primary resources and in-text citations in graduate and professional level work. Websites are usually not peer-reviewed, are laden with subjective opinion rather than data-supported interpretation, and the content is often modified or updated. Appropriate graduate level resources, once published, have longevity; they cannot be altered or updated and stand the test of time. Graduate students are strongly encouraged to open the lines of communication with the GCU Library staff who can help students learn to navigate the campus library and e-library collections.

The Peer-Review Process

The peer-review process for most academic literature is rigorous. Peer-reviewed journals use subject-matter experts who are either readers of the journal who have solid research expertise and publication record in that field or who have published a manuscript in the journal. A manuscript is reviewed by two or more, most often voluntary, reviewers in the appropriate field of expertise (hence the term peer-reviewed). Reviewers are responsible for assuring the integrity of the work, the appropriateness of the work for the intended audience, and for determining the relevancy or accuracy of presentation of information in the context of current trends, paradigms, or supported hypotheses in their discipline. Scholarly work may be offered to the public in other forums other than in press.

Some conferences publish papers written specifically for a conference and presented to a professional audience in conference proceedings publications. Academic conferences also maintain a peer-review process to ensure the quality of the work that is presented.