Scholarly vs. Popular vs. Trade vs. Primary Sources
Publications exist in wide
variety.
Consider, what type of documents do you need based on your information needs?
What types of resources do your teachers expect you to cite in your research?
|
Popular |
Scholarly |
Trade |
Primary Source |
|
| Type of source |
|
|
|
Images from NARA |
| Length and appearance of articles | Shorter, overview-type
articles. Popular style.
Glossy format. Attractive covers. Lots of photographs. Does not usually include abstract or citation list. Includes many advertisements aimed at a general audience. Purpose of the articles is to entertain the reader. |
Lengthy, in depth. Often
includes tables, graphs, statistics.
Serious appearance, not heavily graphic. Generally includes abstract and citation list. Advertisements aimed at the scholarly audience it serves. Purpose of the articles is usually to present original research or experiments. |
Glossy format, similar to
popular magazines. Information designed to be attractive and useful to
members of an industry.
Advertising appeals to those in the business. Frequently includes lots of advertising. Purpose of the articles is to offer advice to others in the field. |
Can be text or other media format. Examples of primary sources are speeches, letters, songs, legislation, court decisions, government documents, blogs, journals/diaries, interviews, artifacts, political cartoons, autobiographies, and photographs. These may appear independently or may be embedded in other documents. |
| Authorship/Editorial | Reporters, staff writers.
Credentials not usually included. Reviewed by the editorial staff, not
subject experts.
Articles are sometimes unsigned. Usually published by a commercial publisher. |
Scholars, experts.
Credentials always included.
Peer reviewed, refereed or juried: critically evaluated by a knowledge panel of experts. Usually published by a scholarly or university press. |
Articles generally
written by practitioners or staff writers.
Articles are sometimes unsigned. |
First hand evidence, created by someone who was a witness to the event. Look for bias. |
| Title | Often included the word magazine. | Includes words like: review, journal, research, quarterly, studies, transactions, proceedings, archives. | Titles vary. The may say, magazine of/for the ____industry / professional . .May include the word trends | Titles vary. |
| Language | Non-technical, accessible by broad audience | Technical, likely to include the jargon of the field. Assumes some background knowledge from the reader. | Likely to include the jargon of the field. Assumes some background knowledge from the reader. | Language of the speaker, the organization, the place, the time. |
| Article structure | No specific structure. | Traditional structure usually requires: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, references | No specific structure. | Structure varies by document type. |
| Frequency | Published daily, weekly or monthly. | Published bi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. | Frequency varies. | Not applicable |
