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Evaluating Research Sources: Questions to Consider
Is this article popular or scholarly?
- Scholarly and Popular Materials Guide (NC State)Guide to identifying scholarly and popular articles from North Carolina State University
- Ulrichsweb.com This link opens in a new windowBibliographic and publisher information on periodicals including scholarly journals, trade magazines, popular magazines, and newspapers.
Comparing Popular and Scholarly Articles
| Articles in Popular Magazines and Newspapers | Articles in Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals |
| Written by journalists or magazine staff | Written by experts affiliated with a research institution (university, hospital, etc.) |
| Purpose is to inform, persuade, or entertain the general public | Purpose is to communicate research findings to other experts |
| Use language understood by the general public | Use precise, discipline-specific language |
| Do not include a formal bibliography, works cited, or references list | Always include a bibliography, works cited, and/or references list |
| Often include bright, colorful photos | Often display data in black-and-white charts/graphs |
| Evaluated for publication by a magazine editor | Have been evaluated and recommend for publication by other experts in the peer-review process |
| Popular magazines are often published weekly | Scholarly journals are often published monthly or quarterly |
Understanding the Scholarly Publication Process
What are scholarly articles?
In the sciences, many scholarly articles (also called peer-reviewed articles) include a description of a specific research study, the results of the study, and a discussion of the significance of these results. Other scholarly articles may provide a summary and analysis of all recently-published research on a given topic.
What is the peer-review process?
- Researchers write an article and submit it to a scholarly journal (also called a refereed journal or a peer-reviewed journal).
- The journal editors send the article to other expert researchers in the field, known as peer reviewers.
- The peer reviewers read the article and make a recommendation regarding whether the article is worthy of being published in the journal. They will consider factors such as the significance of the research findings and the quality of the scholarship. They will typically also suggest changes to improve the article.
- The journal editors decide whether to publish the article based on the peer reviewers' feedback. Often, they will ask the authors to make changes suggested by the peer reviewers before the article is re-considered for publication.
Be aware that not everything published in a scholarly journal is a peer-reviewed article. Scholarly journals also include book reviews, editorials, and other content that has not been peer-reviewed.