Question

How to determine if a source is scholarly?

Answered By: Jen Saulnier Lange
Last Updated: Oct 09, 2023     Views: 52497

You might occasionally hear your instructors mention that you need to find “scholarly” sources. What does that mean?

The sources you find while researching can generally be placed into two different categories: popular and scholarly.

The term scholarly typically means that the source has been “peer-reviewed,” which is a lengthy editing and review process performed by scholars in the field to check for quality and validity. To determine if your source has been peer-reviewed, you can investigate the journal in which the article was published. Try going to the journal’s website and finding information about their submission & revision guidelines, or search the journal title in UlrichsWeb Global Serials Directory to learn more about it. Not every article published in a peer-reviewed journal has gone through the peer-review process, so you will need to look at the journal's publishing process and evaluate the article itself.

 

Examine the chart and examples below to see other characteristics you can use to determine if a source is popular or scholarly.

Trait Popular Scholarly
Authors Journalists or freelance writers Academics or researchers (credentials listed)
Audience General public Researchers, academics,  college students
Editing Process  Sometimes edited by staff Peer-reviewed before publication
Appearance  Contains photos, illustrations, meant to entertain, shorter in length  Contains charts, graphs, references, meant to inform, longer in length
Examples Newsweek, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, websites Journal of Evolutionary Biology, JAMA, The Journal of Popular Culture

 

Example of a Scholarly Source:

Popular source example from The View magazine with cartoon graphics, advertisement, numbered lists, and large photograph

Examples of a Popular Source:

Popular source example from The View magazine with cartoon graphics, advertisement, numbered lists, and large photograph

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