Exploring Sources: Scholarly and Popular Sources

Scholarly and Popular Sources

Let's take a deeper look at the difference between scholarly sources and popular sources. Read the text and answer the questions below.

Let's take a deeper look at the difference between scholarly sources and popular sources.

Scholarly sources

Scholarly sources, also known as academic sources, are written by experts in a particular field of study - generally for the purpose of sharing original research or analyzing others' findings. Scholarly work will thoroughly cite all source materials used and is usually subject to "peer-review" prior to publication. This means that independent experts in the field review, or "referee" the publication to check the accuracy and validity of its claims. The primary audience for this sort of work is fellow experts and students studying the field. As a result the content is typically much more sophisticated and advanced than articles found in general magazines, or professional/trade journals. Scholarly sources are usually published by academic publishers, and the journals or books they are published in will not have colourful packaging and/or images other than graphs or tables used to illustrate findings - textbooks can be an exception; they may include lots of design elements to keep students' interest.

To spot a scholarly source, make sure it has most of these characteristics:

  • written by experts for experts - usually academics in the field
  • based on original research or intellectual inquiry
  • written at a university level, with language used that is specific to the discipline
  • is peer-reviewed
  • published in an academic journal or book, with no ads and few instances of colourful text, images or covers

Popular sources

Popular sources aim to inform a wide array of readers about issues of interest and are much more informal in tone or scope. They are often written by people like journalists using an everyday style, and do not normally cite their sources (although they may link to other sources). They do not undergo a review other than by editorial staff. And, commercial interests and potential profits from advertising can determine what gets published and the viewpoints included.

Examples of popular sources include general news, business and entertainment publications such as the magazines Time, Business Weekly, or Vanity Fair. Note, special interest publications which are not specifically written for an academic audience are also considered "popular" i.e., National Geographic, Scientific American, Psychology Today. Popular publications can be identified visually by their inclusion of advertisements and colourful design.

More information

More information on popular and scholarly sources can be found in the Library's guide, Evaluating Information Sources. As well, our module on Evaluating Sources provides in-depth information on how to evaluate sources to determine if they can be included in assignments, including Wikipedia, Google and fake news. 

Vocabulary

  • Scholarly or academic sources
  • Popular source

Activity

(Need the worksheet? Exploring Sources Worksheet Download Exploring Sources Worksheet )

On your worksheet, answer these questions:  

  1. What factors can drive publishing decisions for popular sources?
  2. What are some tips to help spot a scholarly source?

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