Embedded Files
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:
In Section 1, we talked about the categories of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, which focus on the information a source contains. Now let's discuss popular and scholarly sources, which focus on the audience. All sources you encounter will be written for a particular audience. This section will help you recognize the differences.
WHAT TO DO:
WHAT TO DO:
Review the comparison charts to understand the differences.
Take Self-Check Quiz.
Go to Part 2, Source Types.
Popular and Scholarly Sources
Popular and Scholarly Sources
Why Does it Matter?
Why Does it Matter?
Popular and scholarly sources are all about the audience. Works written for the general public are popular sources, and works written for scholars or academics in their field are more often considered scholarly (or peer-reviewed) sources. Identifying the audience of a source is an important part of research, and there are some identifying traits that are important to that task. Let's take a look:
Scholarly Sources
Scholarly Sources
Author & Audience
Author & Audience
Authors are specialists or researchers in their subject area
Their academic or other affiliations are usually listed at the beginning of the article
Material is written for scholars, researchers, students, professionals in the subject field
Popular Sources
Popular Sources
Author & Audience
Author & Audience
Authors are often reporters or individuals with a journalism degree
Sometimes written by staff (or no listed author) without any specific expertise in the subject
Material is written for a general reader without any particular expertise or advanced education in the subject
Scholarly Sources
Scholarly Sources
Content & Citations
Content & Citations
Narrow focus, provides advanced knowledge in specific field
Long articles, organized in a standard format typically with an abstract and sections with subheadings with long, descriptive titles
Subject-specific vocabulary
Page numbers of issues within a volume are usually consecutive (i.e., the first page of Issue 2 is the number following the last page number of Issue 1)
Citations are almost always included at the end of the work, usually in the form of a Works Cited List, Reference List, or Bibliography
Popular Sources
Popular Sources
Content & Citations
Content & Citations
Broad and general subject focus, often contains opinion pieces or overviews
Typically short articles, and longer articles are rarely divided by subheadings
Sometimes contain feature articles and information on current social issues and public opinion
Page numbering starts at 1
Titles are often designed to catch your attention
Citations are rarely included. Articles may include links to other sources within the text, but there is no formatted list at the end
Scholarly Sources
Scholarly Sources
Appearance & Publisher
Appearance & Publisher
Journals usually have plain covers
Usually contains charts, figures, and graphs
Journals are usually published by research institutions or professional organizations
Scholarly books are typically from academic presses, but always use additional criteria to determine the audience
Popular Sources
Popular Sources
Appearance & Publisher
Appearance & Publisher
Designed to catch the eye of potential readers
Glossy paper, attractive cover, multicolor images
Magazines are usually published by commercial organizations, typically for profit
Popular books are printed by trade publishers, but always use additional criteria to determine the audience
Scholarly Sources
Scholarly Sources
Examples
Examples
Examples include:
Journal of Dental Research
The American Historical Review
Comparative Literature Studies
Popular Sources
Popular Sources
Examples
Examples
Examples include:
Sports Illustrated
National Geographic
Time
A Note About Social Media
A Note About Social Media
Social media is always considered a popular source. These sites are primarily for sharing experiences, opinions, and quick snapshots in time rather than material appropriate for most types of research.
Even if a social media post shares a a scholarly article, the post itself would be considered popular. If you need to cite the information shared by a social media site, it is best to track that back to the original information and evaluate it independently.
For example, the author of a research article may post a link to their published article on Twitter or an academic journal may post articles to its Facebook page. These posts are not scholarly sources; rather you should follow the link and go to the original information!
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse