LibGuides: Research Basics: Types of Information

Useful Terms

When you are gathering your sources, you need know the difference between popular and peer-reviewed sources.

Popular publications - are written by journalists to entertain or inform a general audience.
Scholarly publications - are written by researchers of experts in the field for other scholars. These publications use specialized vocabulary, include citations, and are often peer-reviewed.
Trade Publications - are written for a particular trade, industry, or business. These publications focus on news, trends, and opinions and are not considered scholarly.

Materials published at regular intervals such as newspapers, magazines, or journals.

A periodical written for a scholarly audience.

Peer review is a process scholarly articles go through before they are published. An article is evaluated by experts (peers) in the field to ensure accuracy and quality. "Refereed" is also used to describe this process.

Popular vs. Scholarly

Sometimes professors will ask you to use "scholarly articles" rather than popular magazines or newspapers. How can you tell the difference? See the table below:

Characteristics	Scholarly Articles	Popular Magazine
Appearance	Sober and serious May contain graphs or charts Will not find glossy pages or photographs	Attractive appearance Advertisements Heavily illustrated Glossy paper
Audience	Scholars and students	General audience
Authors	Scholars in the field of study	Reporters, usually not experts on the subject
Documentation	Sources cited in footnotes and/or bibliography	Sources not cited or cited informally
Purpose	Report results of original research or experimentation	Provide general information
Article Acceptance Procedure	Many (but not all*) scholarly journals are "refereed" or "peer review" journals - articles undergo a rigorous examination by other scholars in the field before being published.	Written by hired reporters, edited by magazine editors, and published.
Example journals	Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise Journal of Sports Medicine Internal Journal of Sport Psychology	Sports Illustrated Coach and Athletic Director Bicycling
Example articles	Peer-reviewed article example	Popular article example