You’re probably familiar with popular sources like newspapers, magazines, and most websites—these are written for a general audience. Scholarly sources, on the other hand, are created for an academic audience, including professors, researchers, and college students. They typically appear as journal articles, books, or book chapters.
There’s also a middle ground: trade publications. These are written for professionals in a specific field and provide industry news and insights, but they are not considered scholarly.
Depending on your topic and assignment requirements, you may use both scholarly and non-scholarly sources. Since non-scholarly sources don’t go through the same rigorous review process, be sure to evaluate them carefully before using them in your research.
The UW-Green Bay Library databases include articles from several types of sources. This table can help you understand the different types of articles by comparing their characteristics.
Scholarly Journals | Trade Publications | Magazines | Newspapers | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Scholarly |
Yes | No | No | No |
Purpose |
To advance knowledge in a field of study, often in the form of original research or analysis | To discusses current trends, news and products in a specific field | To inform, entertain, or persuade on a variety of topics | To inform, entertain, or persuade regarding news and current events |
Format |
Lengthy articles with abstracts, methods, results, conclusions, and bibliography | Medium-length articles | Short and sometimes medium-length articles | Short articles |
Authors |
Scholars, professors, or researchers in the field | Staff, scholars, professionals in the field, or freelance writers with subject expertise | Publication's staff or freelance writers | Publication's staff, newswires, freelance writers, or syndicated columnists |
Language |
Terminology and jargon of the field | Appropriate for an educated readership | Generally simple language | Generally simple language |
Audience |
Scholars, professors, researchers, college students | Professionals in a particular industry | General public | General public |
Graphics |
Graphics, charts, and photographs included to convey information | Photographs, illustrations, charts, and tables; may be informative or decorative | Photographs, illustrations, drawings, charts and advertisements | Photographs, illustrations, drawings, and charts, and advertisements |
Sources |
Always include in-text citations with reference lists at the end | Occasional short reference lists | Rarely lists sources; information often comes from interviews | Rarely lists sources; information often comes from interviews |
Examples |
Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Communication, Computers & Education | Adweek, Social Work Today, Minority Nurse, Industrial Engineer | Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Popular Science | New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Green Bay Press-Gazette |
UW-Green Bay Libraries offer a great place to start, but be aware that not everything in the library is scholarly. In addition to many scholarly resources, the library's collection includes many non-scholarly resources, including newspapers, magazines, and trade journals. The following tips will help you find scholarly sources on your topic.