How To Tell the Difference between
Scholarly and Popular Journals
Your instructors may ask you to use only scholarly (or "peer-reviewed" or "refereed") journals. To evaluate whether the sources you find are scholarly or popular, try using the criteria below.
|
Scholarly Journal
 |
 |
Popular Journal
 |
| Length |
Longer articles, providing in-depth analysis of topics |
|
Shorter articles, providing broader overviews of topics |
| 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 jargon 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” or “peer reviewed”) |
|
Articles are not evaluated by experts in the field, but by editors on staff |
| Credits |
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 |
From:
University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries.
Pre-Test and Post-Test
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