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Scholarly vs Popular Sources
Magazine and journal articles can usually be considered "popular" or "scholarly."
Criteria to identify "popular" magazine articles:
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Articles are short, written by journalists rather than by scholars,
and appear in popular magazines and news magazines. These are the magazines
commonly found in newstands, bookstores and supermarkets, etc.
Time, Better
Homes and Gardens, and Sports Illustrated are examples
of popular magazines.
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Articles are often unsigned and/or written by journalists; there may
be no way to assess the accuracy of the information or the qualifications
of the author. Typically there is no bibliography or list of sources.
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Articles frequently include glossy color photographs.
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Articles are usually informative and up-to-date and may deal with important
contemporary issues, but they are not based upon scholarly research.
Criteria to identify "scholarly" sources:
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Articles tend to be longer, are written by scholars or specialists
on the subject whose credentials can be evaluated, and appear in scholarly
journals.
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Scholarly journal titles often have the words such as "Journal" "Review", "Bulletin",
or "Research" or may include the title of an organization,
such as "American Historical Association". Examples of scholarly
journals are Child Study Journal, American Economic Review,
and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
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Many of these journals are "refereed" or "peer reviewed" or
"scholarly," i.e., articles are selected for publication by a panel of
experts who evaluate them for accuracy and importance.
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Articles may not be heavily illustrated, but tables, graphs, and diagrams
are often included.
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Articles are usually based on original research using established methodology
which supports conclusions arrived at by the author.
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A bibliography or list of references is included. These allow the reader
to see what sources were used by the author of the article. Notes or
in-text references will be used.
- Some databases allow you to select "referred" or "scholarly" as a search
feature. Others display the search results in tabs for "scholarly," etc.
Books may also be "popular" or "scholarly." When
evaluating books, you may want to ask the following questions:
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Are there documented sources to support the author's research? Documentation
includes either notes and bibliographies or parenthetical references and
reference lists.
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Is the author objective? Look for indications that the author is unbiased.
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Are the author's credentials or affiliation stated? Do the credientials
establish the author as an expert?
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Who published the book? Books published by popular presses may carry
less weight than those published by scholarly or university presses.
- Are book reviews available? Book reviews will help assess the quality
of a book. The Academic
OneFile database is an example
of a source to locate book reviews.
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