IEP 0640: Scholarly vs Popular

Popular Articles/Magazines

• Are often written by journalists or professional writers for a general audience
• Use language easily understood by general readers
• Articles not evaluated by experts in the field but by editors on the staff
• Rarely give full citations for sources
• Shorter articles giving a broader overview of topics
• Newspapers are considered as popular magazines

Examples:

Adapted and used with permission from the University of Arizona Library.

• Will be based on interpretation of primary sources and other secondary sources
• Will include citations (in the form of references, footnotes, and/or endnotes)
• Are often published by university presses (examples: Oxford University Press; University of Georgia Press, etc.)
• Will include an index

Scholarly Articles/Journals

• Are written by and for faculty, researchers or scholars
• Use scholarly or technical language
• Tend to be longer articles about specific research
• Include full citations for sources
• Are peer reviewed or refereed (articles are reviewed by an editor and other scholars in the field before being published)
• Book reviews and editorials are not considered scholary articles, even when found in scholarly journals

Examples:

Adapted and used with permission from the University of Arizona Library.