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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.
| POPULAR & NEWS | SCHOLARLY | PROFESSIONAL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Information and entertainment | Communicate research and scholarship | Professional information (industry/career specific). |
| Audience | General public | Researchers, professors, students | Professionals in the field |
| Authors | Journalists, freelancers. | Researchers, professors | Practitioners on the job (e.g. teachers, counselors) |
| How to Recognize |
Articles are pretty easy to read Absence of references Advertisements Usually shorter, a few pages |
Articles are difficult to read Begin with abstract Lots of references Methodology sometimes described Usually longer, 7+ pages |
Practitioners views Industry information Discuss trends and issues Advertisements |
| Where found |
Google, Library Databases | Google Scholar, Library Databases | Google, Library Databases |
| Examples |