PCC Library "How To" Page

More . . . "How can I tell the difference between
scholarly journals and popular magazines?"

First of all, the answer to this question applies to periodicals (aka magazines, journals, newspapers) and Web sites. If you are new to research in an academic library, being able to tell the difference between these kinds of information will help you both in class and in daily life. Here's how to tell the difference.


Scholarly sources:

• The subject matter is serious and academic: Philosophy, Nursing, Science, Literary Criticism, etc.
• Many scholarly journals are published by professional organizations such as the American Medical Association, the Harvard Law School, etc.
• The writing style appears dense, wordy, dry, technical. Terminology may be unfamiliar to someone outside the discipline.
• Point of view: tries to be objective, arguments and opinions are backed up by the research which is referred to in footnotes. Case studies are common in these sources.
• General lack of fancy photos and advertisements, although there may be illustrations such as graphs, tables, lists, etc.
• Footnotes, end notes and/or bibliographies are found in all scholarly journals. Articles are sometimes preceded by an abstract.
• Articles are written by professionals in the discipline. For example, articles in a physics magazine tend to be written by scientists with credentials; education journals feature articles by professors, and so forth.
• The bottom line of scholarly sources: they are published to share information and research. The authors generally receive little or no payment for their work; their prestige as a scholar rests on how well they present or argue their information and research.
  
  

Popular sources (aka non-scholarly):

• Subject matter is mainstream, such as fashions, news, sports, politics, biographical/gossip column stories, financial news, consumer goods, entertainment, etc.
• Point of view: often the ideology of the publisher is evident in the political, religious, ethical, corporate and/or social views and values expressed. Biased, emotional, and/or moralistic arguments and editorials are clues.
• Often has slick, glossy photos or illustrations on the cover and throughout the magazine. On Web sites you'll see banner advertisements, pop-up windows of ads, lots of images, or other eye-catching material.
• The writing style is easy to read - this is because it is aimed at general readers, whereas scholarly journals are written for other scholars and academics.
• Footnotes and bibliographies? Are you kidding? You won't find them here.
• The bottom line of popular sources: they are published to make money and entertain. The authors make some or all of their living from their work; they may become more well-know (and paid) as a result of their work and how they influence their audience.
  

Examples of both kinds of sources: