Popular vs. Scholarly Sources
This guide is designed to teach you the difference between scholarly and popular sources and to help you differentiate between the two.
Note: Scholarly articles are also sometimes called peer-reviewed articles, refereed articles, or academic journal articles.
Some Other Helpful Terminology:
- Serials are publications produced in a series under one title.
- Periodicals are serials published on a regular schedule (e.g. weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)
- Journals are periodicals sold primarily for professional use. Journals are often described as "scholarly", "peer-reviewed”, or "professional."
- Magazines are periodicals sold primarily for personal (not professional) use.