|
Characteristics |
Scholarly |
Popular |
|---|---|---|
|
How can you tell the difference |
 |
 |
|
Length |
Longer articles, providing |
Shorter articles, providing |
|
Authorship |
Author usually an expert or specialist in the field, name and credentials always provided |
Author usually a staff writer or a journalist, name and credentials often not provided |
|
Language/Audience |
Written in the specialized language of the field for scholarly readers (professors, researchers or students)
|
Written in non-technical language for anyone to understand |
|
Format/Structure |
Articles usually more structured, may include these sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography |
Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure |
|
Special Features |
Illustrations that support the text, such as tables of statistics, graphs, maps, or photographs |
Illustrations with glossy or color photographs, usually for advertising purposes |
|
Editors |
Articles usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (refereed) |
Articles are not evaluated by experts in the field, but by editors on staff |
|
Credits |
A bibliography (works cited) and/or footnotes are always provided to document research thoroughly |
A bibliography (works cited) is usually not provided, although names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text |
This table courtesy of the University of Texas San Antonio Library.
Many of our databases, including Academic Search Complete, allow you to refine your search to limit results to scholarly (also called peer-reviewed or refereed) articles. Some others, for example JSTOR and Project Muse, contain only scholarly material.
Depending on the nature of your research, both scholarly journals and popular magazines can be valuable sources.
Examples of a popular and a scholarly article on hate:
Popular: Monteith, Margo. "Why We Hate." Psychology Today 35.3 (2002): 44. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 June 2011.
Scholarly: Meddaugh, Priscilla Marie. "Hate Speech or "Reasonable Racism:" The Other in Stormfront. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 24.4 (2009): 251-268. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 June 2011.
If you are unable to find enough information to determine if a journal is scholarly, ask a librarian for help.
Scholarly journals have articles written by researchers who are considered experts in a field. These journals are also known as "peer-reviewed," "refereed" or "academic" journals. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is a scholarly journal. Popular magazines have articles written by generalists or journalists. Time or Newsweek are examples of popular journals.