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Still having trouble telling the differences between popular and scholarly articles? Hopefully the following will help:
Your professors will often ask you to use scholarly sources for your assignments. A peer-reviewed article is one example of a scholarly source. However, professional scholars (academics) can, and often do, write authoritative articles in non-peer-reviewed journals and newspapers.
| CATEGORY | PURPOSE | AUDIENCE | AUTHORS | CHARACTERISTICS | LOCATION | EXAMPLES |
| Popular & News |
inform, persuade, or entertain; Shape public opinion |
General public. Also influences policymakers & professionals. |
Journalists – both professional & freelance – often shaped by Editorial Boards, Owners, & Advertisers |
|
Google, news sites, library databases | |
| Scholarly |
Grow and share academic knowledge; Establish authority in a discipline |
Researchers, professors, students |
Academics, researchers – often tied to institutional or funding priorities |
|
Google Scholar, library databases, institutional repositories | |
| Professional & Trade | Share practical knowledge, trends, and issues within a field | Practitioners, professionals, industry members |
Practitioners, industry experts – who may be shaped by professional associations or commercial interests |
|
Library databases, professional association websites, trade publishers |