SCHOLARLY VS. POPULAR MEDIA

Scholarly vs. Popular Media

Scholarly vs. Popular Media

Scholarly Source

A scholarly source is a publication, such as a journal, that includes papers and articles which document and discuss the results of original research. This is one of the primary venues used by researchers to communicate the results of their research to others in their field of study. Consequently the language used is often technical and discipline specific. The research is submitted to the publisher in a format which includes the methodology used to conduct the research and the results of the research. Sources are documented in a bibliography and the credentials of the author(s) are given in the paper. The scholarly source publishes the research after it has gone through a process of review by a panel of experts in that specific field of study, and has fulfilled the requirements of a scholarly article.

Scholarly sources are those that have been approved by a group with recognized expertise in the field under discussion. Books published by University Presses fall into this category, as do articles published in peer-reviewed journals—journals where the editors send pieces out to be read by experts in the field before deciding to publish them. The Yale library subscribes to several databases that specialize in scholarly sources (such as Academic Search Premier). See Databases for more information. If you use sources for facts or ideas in your writing, some research projects will demand that you rely heavily if not exclusively on scholarly sources. Scholarly sources are not infallible, but their publication process includes many steps for verifying facts, for reducing political bias, and for identifying conflicts of interest (for instance, for informing readers when a drug company has funded research on its own product).

In a narrow sense, every other source could be called a popular source. But this does not mean that all popular sources are of equal reliability. Nor does it mean that you should use only scholarly sources for all of your writing at Yale. Depending on the research context, some projects will permit a mix of scholarly and popular sources. As a general rule, the more specialized the course or the research project you're working on, the more you should restrict yourself to using verified, expert sources in your paper. In a history seminar about World War 2, you would usually be expected to consult the most definitive, academic studies of the period.

Popular source

A popular source is a publication, such as a newspaper or magazine that you could buy in a grocery store. It includes articles reporting current events or summarizing general research. It is one of the primary methods used to communicate information to the public. Articles are usually a short overview of a topic presented in everyday language. It is often illustrated with pictures and advertisements. The information is often written by journalists. Sources may be quoted, but there are no bibliographies.

Characteristics of Popular Magazines and Scholarly Journals

Scholarly

Popular

If electronic?

Overall appearance

Sober and serious. Few ...