Information Sources: Popular and Scholarly
There are big differences between popular and scholarly sources. Scholarly sources will:
- be written by experts
- be peer reviewed
- be written for a specialist, scholarly audience
- reference all information sources used
- use formal, academic language
- answer a research question
- be authoritative and objective
- be intended to inform
- be longer than articles from popular information sources
- usually have more than one author
- have very few or no adverts
- might only be available in libraries or by subscription
Popular sources will:
- be edited, but not peer reviewed
- be written for general audiences
- use simpler language
- be mostly intended to entertain
- probably not reference any information sources used
- probably not be objective
- be shorter than articles from scholarly information sources
- usually be written by one person
- contain lots of adverts
- be on sale everywhere
- be more up-to-date
Popular sources are good for getting snapshots of what is happening at a particular time or what people think of a topic and getting background or anecdotal information. Scholarly sources are better for authoritative, in-depth information. Again, what sources you use will depend upon what you're trying to do.
