Scholarly and Popular Sources

Scholarly and Popular Sources

It can be very tricky to evaluate sources to determine which ones are scholarly and which ones are popular. When trying to determine whether a source is scholarly or popular, here are some general rules of thumb to keep in mind. 

Is it Peer Reviewed?

If you're not sure if a journal is peer-reviewed, you can search for the journal name in Ulrich's and look for the little black-and-white referee jersey.

NOTE:  Ulrich's will NOT tell you if a specific article is peer-reviewed - it will only tell you if that journal has a peer-review process.  Note that book reviews, letters to the editor, and commentaries (opinion pieces) are typically NOT peer reviewed even if the journal is.

• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory 

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory is an authoritative source for finding information about a variety of periodicals, including academic and scholarly journals, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines and newspapers, and more. Use Ulrichs to check if a periodical is scholarly, peer-reviewed, and other important information for research.
Alternate titles: Ulrichs Periodicals Directory ; Ulrich's international periodicals directory; Ulrichsweb.com
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