Popular vs. Scholarly Articles - Guide

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Printable version (PDF)    Popular vs. Scholarly Articles - Tutorial

This guide is designed to teach the differences between popular and scholarly articles.

Popular Articles (Magazines)

• Are often written by journalists or professional writers for a general audience
• Use language easily understood by general readers
• Rarely give full citations for sources
• Written for the general public
• Tend to be shorter than journal articles

Examples of Popular Magazines:

 

Scholarly Articles (Journals)

• Are written by and for faculty, researchers or scholars (chemists, historians, doctors, artists, etc.)
• Uses scholarly or technical language
• Tend to be longer articles about research
• Include full citations for sources 
• Are often refereed or peer reviewed (articles are reviewed by an editor and other specialists before being accepted for publication)
• Book reviews and editorials are not considered scholarly articles, even when found in scholarly journals

Examples of Scholarly Journals:

 

Some points to remember:

• Both magazine and journal articles can be good sources for your work. 
• When selecting articles, think about how you intend to use the information: 
  • Do you want background on a topic new to you? (use magazines) 
  • Did your teacher say to cite scholarly resources? (use journals) 
• Often a combination of the two will be most appropriate for undergraduate research.