Scholarly & Popular Sources
| Author |
Scholar or Researcher |
Professionals or Craftspeople |
Journalists & Others |
| Audience |
Academics, Policy Makers & Students |
Professionals or Craftspeople |
General Public |
| Editorial Process |
Peer Review, Editorial Team or both |
Editorial Team |
Single Editor or Team |
| Documentation |
Formal Citation Styles |
Citation Styles |
May or may not include citations, if included do not follow formal styles |
| Language |
Jargon Heavy and Discipline Specific |
Jargon Heavy and Discipline Specific |
Easy to Understand |
| Format |
Lengthy, Dense, Primarily Text |
Varies, includes profession specific advertisements |
Can be short or longer, includes frequent images
|
Sometimes we'll refer to sources in groups as scholarly or popular. Scholarly sources are written by scholars and academics for scholars and academics. These sources are associated with a low tolerance for error and high standards. They also take longer to produce and are often kept behind paywalls. Trade publications are written by experts in a profession for other similar professionals. Examples include carpenters, crocheters, or machinists. Popular sources are a very large category. They include almost everything else, and the unifying characteristic is that they are written for a general audience.
