Transcript Tell the difference between a scholarly article and a
How do you tell the difference between a scholarly article and a popular article?
Your professor says that you have to have scholarly journal articles for your research project.
Let’s look at what scholarly journals are and what popular magazines are ~and then the differences between the two!
Scholarly Journals
• Definitions J ournal articles that are written by experts or authorities in a professional or academic field to report their research or scholarly opinion of a topic. Often called peer reviewed or refereed because referees in the subject area review and evaluate the article before accepting it for publication. • When to use an article from a scholarly journal?
- For doing most college research - For finding out what has been researched and studied on your topic
Magazines
• Definition: A magazine is a periodical written for the general public to inform and entertain. This is what you buy in the grocery store, drug store, etc.
Often referred to as popular magazines.
• When to use an article from a popular magazine: – for a general understanding of a topic – for information on popular culture and hot topics – for general articles on topics written for the general public for information or entertainment
Scholarly articles vs. Popular articles ~ the differences:
•
Authors: Scholarly –
experts or authorities in professional or academic fields
Popular
– staff or freelance writers, often unsigned •
Purpose: Scholarly –
to report original research and research findings
Popular
– to entertain or inform in a general way; not original research
Scholarly articles vs. Popular articles ~ the differences
•
Intended Audience: Scholarly –
scholars, researchers, practitioners in an academic or professional field
Popular
– general audience •
Language: Scholarly –
technical jargon of the subject area
Popular
– simple language that anyone could read
Scholarly articles vs. Popular articles ~ the differences:
•
Documentation of sources used: Scholarly Popular –
includes references and bibliography of resources used – Does not give references to where information was obtained but may mention research or researcher’s findings •
Editing: Scholarly Popular –
goes through a peer review process before accepted for publication and often referred to as peer reviewed or refereed.
– edited by magazine editors for readability and suitability for the magazine’s purpose
Scholarly articles vs. Popular articles ~ the differences
•
Illustrations: Scholarly –
sparsely illustrated with charts, diagrams or appropriate photographs related to the research and has advertisements that appeal to professionals in the field
Popular
– heavily illustrated with glossy covers and pictures and contains a lot of advertisements for the general public So, how can you tell whether an article is scholarly or popular in a database?
Most databases will give you the option of limiting your search to: Peer reviewed For example, in InfoTrac OneFile this is how you limit to peer reviewed articles:
• Check the box for limiting to peer reviewed publications. The database will limit the search for you.
• Results of InfoTrac search:
This is a peer-reviewed search in PsycINFO, an Ebsco database:
Results of the PsycINFO search: Any questions? Ask a Librarian!