Popular vs. Scholarly Articles
Once you’ve started searching for articles to write your research paper, it is important to know whether you’ve found a popular or a scholarly (sometimes called peer-reviewed) article. Many professors will require you to use a certain number or each, or sometimes only scholarly articles. Since libraries have periodicals or journals of all kinds, you may find these guidelines below helpful in determining whether an article is considered popular or scholarly.
- Popular Articles
Popular articles come from magazines you see at newsstands or while in line at the grocery store. Time, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated are popular magazines, to name a few.
- Characteristics of popular magazines/articles
| Length of articles |
Short, 1-5 pages |
| Audience |
Non-academic, general |
| Subjects |
A variety of subjects, general interest stories |
| Vocabulary |
Normal, everyday language, has a conversational tone |
| Written by |
Journalists and magazine staff |
| Where you can find it |
Newsstands, grocery and bookstores |
| Other |
Lots of ads, colors and pictures |
- Scholarly Articles
Scholarly articles are usually published in journals, rather than magazines. They are purchased mostly by and found in academic libraries, not in stores. Some examples of scholarly journals are: Journal of Modern History, Developmental Psychology, New England Journal of Medicine, etc.
- Characteristics of scholarly journals/articles
| Length of articles |
Quite long at times (5-50 pgs.) |
| Audience |
Has a specific audience, academic |
| Subjects |
Usually written for a specific subject area (nursing, history, psychology,
etc.) |
| Vocabulary |
Uses vocabulary specific to a subject area; or is very technical |
| Written by |
Researchers or specialists in the field |
| Where you can find it |
Available through subscription or at an academic library |
| Other |
Plain covers, wordy, less ads, articles are review by peers in profession
before published ("peer-reviewed") |
- Gray Zone
Some titles fall into a gray area—they may be somewhat scholarly in nature, but yet appeal to a general audience. Or they may have some other characteristics from both the popular and scholarly areas. If an article you are considering for a research paper falls into this gray zone, and you feel that you can’t make a decision based on this guide, feel free consult a reference librarian, or verify the article with your professor.
Some examples of gray zone titles are Discover, Harpers, Science, Scientific American, etc.
- Trade Publications
Trade publications are written for a specialized trade or profession and have more news and trends items or commentary. They are specific to an industry, rather than academic scholarship or research.
Some examples of trade publications are Beverage World, Automotive News, Adweek, etc.
Copyright information
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