Research at the university level requires to consult scholarly sources.
How can you determine whether or not a source is scholarly?
General differences between scholarly and popular sources
| Scholarly sources | Popular sources | |
|---|---|---|
| Authors: | Experts (scientists, faculty, engineers) | Generalists (bloggers, staff writers, and journalists); not always attributed |
| Audience: | Specialists in the subject area (students, professors and the author's peers, professionals) | nonprofessionals, general public |
| Examples: | Engineering journals, conference proceedings, books from university presses such as Oxford University Press or MIT Press | Wikipedia, CNN.com, CBC.ca; The Globe and Mail, Science Daily, Science News, bestselling books, books from popular publishers like Penguin and Random House |
| Focus: | Specific and in-depth | Broad overviews |
| Language: | Dense; includes academic jargon | Easier to read; defines specialized terms; more plain language |
| Format: | Almost always include: abstracts (summaries), literature reviews, methodologies, results, and conclusions. For more information check out: Anatomy of a Scientific Article by NSCU Libraries. | Varies |
| Citations: | Include bibliographies, citations, and footnotes that follow a particular academic style guide | No formal citations included; may or may not informally attribute sources in text |
| Before publication: | Evaluated by peers (other scholars) | Edited by in-house editors or not edited at all |
| Design: | Mostly text, with some tables and charts; very little photography; no advertising | Glossy images, attractive design; photo illustrations and advertising are more common |
| Purpose: | Communicating research findings; education | Entertainment; news |
*adapted from Berkeley Library, University of California. Evaluating resources: Scholarly & Popular Sources. http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=83917&p=3747680
5 criteria for evaluating sources
