How do you determine if a book is "scholarly?" The Helmke Library Guide, Is Your Journal Scholarly? includes an explanation of one of the most defining characteristics of scholarly journal article publication, peer review. However, though many scholarly presses have a peer review process for book manuscripts, the book's content often does not indicate whether or not it has been peer reviewed prior to its publication. How then do you tell if a book is scholarly? Give it the APPLE test: Author, Purpose, Publisher, Language, Evidence. The APPLE checklist below will help you form your own evaluation of the book's scholarly content. Book reviews may also help you apply the APPLE criteria. When in doubt, always ask for your professor's opinion.
Author(s') authority: Is the expert really an expert?
From more to less scholarly:
- Holds advanced degree in the subject covered by the book or in a very closely related field.
- Trained investigative reporter writing about his/her investigation.
- Professional in the field writing about experiences in his/her own profession.
- Pundits and other opinion makers writing about their opinions.
Purpose of the book: What kind of information is the author trying to convey?
From more to less scholarly:
- Discusses and reflects on original empirical research.
- Provides an in depth examination of current events, such as Seymour Hersh's book on Abu Ghraib.
- Discusses personal or professional experiences, such as Michael Connelly's book about his life as a crime reporter.
- Profiles individuals in a non-scholarly way, such as in the biography Flags of Our Fathers.
- Argues personal political opinions, such as books by Ann Coulter or Al Franken.
Publisher of the book: Who makes the book available to the public?
From more to less scholarly:
- A press that uses a double blind peer-review process before publication.
- University presses in general (Oxford, Kansas, or Cambridge) or other scholarly publishers (Sage or Routledge)
- Popular publishers (Viking or Doubleday).
Language used by the author(s): How sophisticated is the writing?
From more to less scholarly:
- Uses the terminology of the discipline to discuss research. Targeted to an audience of scholars.
- Uses language common to the general public.
- Uses inflammatory language to arouse bias and prejudice in the reader, such as The Global War on Your Guns.
Evidence cited by the author(s): What sources does the author use to draw conclusions?
From more to less scholarly:
- Original data collection and analysis / primary sources cited in footnotes and bibliographies.
- Secondary sources cited in footnotes and bibliographies.
- Interviews with persons close to event or research area cited within the text of the book. Sources may be indicated by phrases such as, "one source close to the Vice President reported".
- Personal experience is described, such as Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehreinreich.
- Selected anecdotes from other peoples' lives are described.
- Personal opinions and opinions of others form the basis of conclusions, such as David Limbaugh's Bankrupt.
These guide as been adapted with permission from Tips for Distinguishing Scholarly Books from Other Kinds of Books, developed in 2007 at the Meriam Library, California State University, Chico, and posted at http://www.csuchico.edu/lref/pols/scholarlybooks.pdf
