Popular Sources v. Scholarly Sources
For your academic research project you should use scholarly sources and not popular sources in.
The following lists the differences between the two.
Popular Sources: Magazines, Newspapers, Scholarly Sources: Journal articles
etc.
Written by members of staff or free-lance Written by scholars who are authorities about
journalists the topics
Often does not include author’s credentials Includes author’s credentials
May mention sources but does not include a Includes citations, endnotes or footnotes,
formal bibliography and/or a bibliography
Does not go through a peer-review process Goes through a peer-review process
Contains advertisements and illustrations Does not have much advertising; illustrations
designed with marketing appeal are graphs, charts, or examples
Rarely has an abstract (a brief but thorough Often includes an abstract
summary of the article at the beginning)
Usually very brief (2-5 pages) Can be very long (8-50 pages)
Written in simple, everyday language Usually includes language specific to the
discipline (i.e. jargon)
Often easy to find for free online Often difficult to find for free online
Written to entertain Written to report on research or discuss a
theory
Written to sell the publication Published by a university or professional
organization to spread knowledge of the topic
For your academic research project you should use scholarly sources and not popular sources in.
The following lists the differences between the two.
Popular Sources: Magazines, Newspapers, Scholarly Sources: Journal articles
etc.
Written by members of staff or free-lance Written by scholars who are authorities about
journalists the topics
Often does not include author’s credentials Includes author’s credentials
May mention sources but does not include a Includes citations, endnotes or footnotes,
formal bibliography and/or a bibliography
Does not go through a peer-review process Goes through a peer-review process
Contains advertisements and illustrations Does not have much advertising; illustrations
designed with marketing appeal are graphs, charts, or examples
Rarely has an abstract (a brief but thorough Often includes an abstract
summary of the article at the beginning)
Usually very brief (2-5 pages) Can be very long (8-50 pages)
Written in simple, everyday language Usually includes language specific to the
discipline (i.e. jargon)
Often easy to find for free online Often difficult to find for free online
Written to entertain Written to report on research or discuss a
theory
Written to sell the publication Published by a university or professional
organization to spread knowledge of the topic
