It's really important to determine what type of resources you need for your assignments. As you research your topic, you will discover different types of articles. Some resources are written for students, scholars or other experts and are generally referred to as SCHOLARLY. Others are written for the general public and are usually referred to as POPULAR.
Both scholarly and popular articles can be found in the library's databases.
Check out the chart below to see how Scholarly and Popular resources are different.
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|
|
POPULAR |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| LENGTH |
Longer articles, providing in-depth analysis of a topic. |
Shorter articles, providing broader overviews of topics. | ||
| AUTHORSHIP |
Written by experts in the field, with names and credentials always provided. |
Written by staff writers or journalists, with names and credentials sometimes provided. | ||
| AUDIENCE |
Scholars, researchers, students. |
Public. | ||
| LANGUAGE |
The writing is often technical and can be more difficult to read if you are unfamiliar with the field. |
The articles are written in a non-technical language for anyone to understand. |
||
| HOW REVIEWED |
Usually critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (this is called peer review). |
Approved by editors on staff. | ||
|
STRUCTURE |
Structured and may include the following sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, and bibliography. |
Shorter and do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure. | ||
| SPECIAL FEATURES |
Includes illustrations that support the text (graphs, tables, statistics, maps, or photographs). Usually minimal or no advertising. |
Often illustrated with glossy images or photographs, and includes advertisements. | ||
| EXAMPLES |
The Impact of Organic Farming on Quality of Tomatoes Is Associated to Increased Oxidative Stress during Fruit Development (link) |
Is Organic Food Really Healthier? (after clicking on the link, click the PDF link on the left) |
