Scholarly research can come in many forms, but is most often how scholars, like your professors, document their studies and share the conclusions of their work. Communication research can take the form of books, articles, and conference presentations..
You may have heard the terms "scholarly article" or "academic article." They both refer to types of scholarly research that go through a peer review process before being published. In communication, it can be important to read research articles to better understand very specific topics.
You should feel free to engage with the many formats of scholarly research that communications researchers produce, but be sure to ask your instructor if you have any questions about their source requirements for an assignment. Sometimes instructors require a certain number of sources to be peer-reviewed. Watch the following video to learn more about peer review.
The following database are a great place to start to find relevant, peer-reviewed articles within the broad research area of communications.