Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly Sources
Know the difference between scholarly and non-scholarly articles.
"Scholarly" journal = "Peer-Reviewed" journal = "Refereed" journal
When researching your topic, you may come across many different types of sources and articles. When evaluating these sources, it is important to think about:
- Who is the author?
- Who is the audience or why was this written?
- Where was this published?
- Is this relevant to your research?
- When was this written? Has it been updated?
- Are there any citations? Who do they cite?
| Scholarly | Popular |
| Written by experts, like academics, scientists, scholars, etc. | Written by generalists, such as journalists, bloggers, etc. |
| Written for specialists or students in the field. |
Written for the general population. |
| Written with scholarly or technical language. | Easy to read, or will define any specialized terms. |
| Will include a full bibliography of the sources that are cited. | No formal citations, or may not have any citations. |
| Published in an academic journal. | Published in a newspaper, magazine, or blog. |
| Are often peer-reviewed. | Are edited in-house or self-edited. |
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Helpful Links and Guides
Here are helpful links and guides to check out for more information on scholarly sources:
- This database contains data on different types of serials and can be used to determine whether a periodical is peer-reviewed or not: Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
- The UC Berkeley Library published this useful guide on evaluating resources, including the differences between scholarly and popular sources, as well as how to find primary sources: UC Berkeley's Evaluating Resources LibGuide