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 "Find Full Text" 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.
