For your assignments you will need to find a variety of sources. Some of those sources will be scholarly and some will be popular. Both scholarly and popular sources can be useful in supporting your work. Think about what type of question you need to answer. Scholarly sources allow you to see how a certain topic has been analyzed in the academic community. They help you answer questions about effects, relationships and impact between issues and facts. Popular sources allow you to see how a certain topic or event has impacted the local community or population. They help you answer the who, what, where and when questions. *Chart below adapted from Rashelle Nagar.
|
Scholarly |
Popular |
|
|
Author |
Written by researchers who are experts in the discipline |
Written by journalists or nonacademics |
|
Audience and Topic |
Academics, scholars, and researchers - subject specific |
General public - general topic/issues |
|
Frequency |
Monthly, quarterly, or annually |
Published weekly or monthly |
|
Ads |
Few to none |
Many ads or promoted content |
|
References |
Footnotes, bibliography, and sometimes appendices |
Few to none |
|
Review Process |
Peer reviewed by other experts |
Reviewed by a publication editor |
|
Images |
Tables, graphs, or photographs |
Lots of photographs and illustrations |
|
Structure |
Lengthy (usually 7+ pages) |
Often short in length |
|
Tone |
Formal tone with technical language |
Casual tone with little jargon |
What is a Peer-Reviewed Article?
Peer-reviewed articles are written by experts and researchers who want to share their research with others in the field.
How do you find Peer-Reviewed articles?
Search online databases and scholarly journals. Read the database description to determine if it includes peer-reviewed articles. Many databases include options to limit your results to peer-reviewed articles.
Quick Reference
Ulrich's Periodical Directory will tell you if a journal is peer-reviewed (refereed). Type in the journal's name and look in the "Refereed" field.