The table below illustrates the differences between popular and scholarly sources: Both popular and scholarly sources can be useful and appropriate to consider when you are conducting research for your assignments. However, you should always review your assignment and the syllabus for your class to see what types of materials your professor would like you to include in your references.
| Scholarly | Popular | |
|---|---|---|
| Authors | Written by experts such as scientists or historians, or other faculty | Written by generalists, including bloggers, staff writers, journalists; not always credited for their work |
| Examples of each type | Journal of Marketing, Journal of Management, etc | Wikipedia, Cnn.com, About.com, People, NY Times, etc. |
| Focus | Specific, in-depth | Broad overviews |
| Language | Include jargon and technical language from the field of study | Written for non-experts |
| Format | Almost always include: abstracts, literature reviews, methodologies, results and conclusions | Varies |
| Citations | Include bibliographies, in-text citations, and footnotes following the citation style for the discipline | No formal citations included, may or may give credit to sources in text |
| Before publication | Evaluated by other scholars (peers) within the discipline | Edited by in-house editors or not edited at all |
| Audience | Specialists in the subject area: students, professors and the author's peers | General readers without a background in the subject area |
| Design | Mostly text, may include tables and charts, generally do not include photographs and do not include advertising | May include glossy images, attractive design elements, photo illustrations and advertising |
| Purpose | Communicate research findings or scholarly ideas | Entertainment, news |
