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How to Identify Scholarly and Popular Sources
Scholarly, academic,
refereed or peer-reviewed journal articles:
- In peer-reviewed journals (also called refereed), the articles are reviewed by other experts
in the same field of study before they are accepted for publication.
- In scholarly journals (also called academic), the articles are written by academics but the articles are not always reviewed by experts in the topic the author is writing about before publication.
- In the article, the author's
credentials are listed and are relevant to the subject of the
article.
- A bibliography or list of works cited is included at the end
of the article, allowing you to trace the information on which
the author has based the paper.
- Scholarly, academic and peer reviewed, refereed journals are often published by a university press or academic association.
Scholarly articles can be either primary
or secondary literature depending on your discipline.
TIP: When you are searching a journal database:
Look for "peer-reviewed" or "refereed"
in the record for the article.
Some journal databases allow you to limit your search to
this type of publication. (See
example FastTrack on InfoTrac)
OR search the journal title in Ulrichsweb.com;
to see if the journal is "refereed." |
Popular magazine articles:
Scholarly books:
- Published by a university press, or a scholarly society, or
an academic series by a trade publisher (e.g. Jossey-Bass Higher
and Adult Education Series)
- The author often has an academic
affiliation and is a recognized authority on a topic (i.e. professor
at a university).
- The work includes an extensive bibliography or list of works
cited and an index to topics covered.
Popular books:
- Published by a trade publisher such as Random House and intended
for a broad audience, not just those studying in that discipline.
- The author may have a corporate,or
business affiliation instead of an academic affiliation.
- The author may include a bibliography and index, but they are
less extensive than for scholarly books.
Books can be either primary
or secondary sources depending on your discipline.
See also Scholarly
vs Popular (Off Campus Library Services)
Contents
Adapted from Evaluation
and Analysis of Information
Revised by Mary Dykes |
Scholarly, Popular
Sources