ENGL105 - Scholarly Articles 101: Types of Sources
Types of Sources
Types of Sources
You may have heard your professor talk about "popular sources" or "scholarly sources" or been asked to cite a "peer-reviewed" journal, but what do these terms even mean? This section will explain some of the different types of sources you may encounter when doing research and help you understand when to use them!
Popular vs. Scholarly Sources
Popular vs. Scholarly Sources Chart
|
Popular Sources |
Scholarly Sources |
|
| Who is the intended audience? | The general public. | Researchers & experts in a field, professors, students. |
| Who are the authors? | A wide variety of authors create popular sources, including bloggers, staff writers, journalists, and more. Sometimes the author may not be named. | Scholars and experts in the field. |
| What is the publication's purpose? | To share general information or news. This could be for a variety of reasons, including entertainment, marketing, or educational purposes. | To share research findings with other scholars in the field. |
| What kind of language is used? | Easy to read, understandable language. Any specialized terms are usually defined. | Jargon that assumes the reader has some knowledge of the field of study. |
| Are sources cited? | Almost never. | Always- sources will be cited and referenced throughout the main text and in a bibliography at the end. |
| Is the source reviewed? | It varies- popular sources are not peer reviewed. They may be edited by the publication's editors or not reviewed at all. | Yes- scholarly sources will undergo a blind review process called "peer review" in which other scholars in that field will comment and suggest edits for a work before it's eventual publication. |
| What are common design features? | Popular sources are often designed to draw a reader in. This might involve streamlined layouts, attention grabbing images, and advertising throughout. | Scholarly articles are mainly text and may contain a few relevant visuals like tables or charts. |
| Examples: |
Wikipedia, Time Magazine, CNN.com, The Washington Post, Scientific American
|
The New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, New Media & Society
|
Practice
Let's practice!
Below is a list of links to different articles. Explore each link and decide if the article is a scholarly or popular source. After, click the 
icon beside each link to check your work.
- How green is your ice cream? popular
- Environmental Impacts of Ice Cream scholarly
What were some of the clues you used to determine if the article was popular or scholarly? Did you look at the publisher? Did the article have an abstract? Make note of the clues you used and make sure to utilize them when searching in the future!
Does this mean that I should never use popular sources when writing a paper?
Not at all! Popular sources can be very useful. Reading popular sources like newspaper articles or magazines can be a great way to get ideas for topics that you might be interested in researching. Popular sources can also be a great way to build up your knowledge about a subject because of the way they explain things using terms the general public can understand. Once you have a better understanding, it will be easier to make sense of scholarly sources on the subject.
Popular sources can also be very useful if you are writing about a current event or want to talk about personal opinions that the general public might hold. When it doubt, talk to your professor about your sources- often times they are fine with popular sources, as long as you are using scholarly sources as well.
