Use the following criteria to decide if a publication is popular or scholarly.
|
Scholarly Articles |
Popular Articles |
|
| Author | Expert in the field, credentials and affilated university listed | Journalist, freelance writer or staff writers |
| Length of article | Longer more detailed content | Shorter articles giving a brief overview |
| Intended audience | Researchers, experts in the field | General Public |
| Layout | Includes an abstract, footnotes, list of citations. | Does not follow a standard format, often a simple title |
| Images | Charts, graphs, tables of data | Colorful, eye catching photos |
| Vocabulary | Specialized terminology, need extensive knowlege of discipline to understand text | Written at the level to be understood by the general public |
If you find an article in a database and there is no option to download a PDF, you will see this "Get a Copy" button instead.
Click on it to find out if the article is available in one of our databases. If it's not available, you will have the option to order a copy via Interlibrary Loan. You will receive an email when the article is available.
This video explains the difference between scholarly and popular publications.
