About Scholarly Journals vs Popular Magazines
Scholarly Journals
Scholarly information is often required for college-level research assignments. Professors favor using scholarly publications found in academic journals or books because they are a highly credible source of information to cite. These publications typically consist of original research and studies. Scholarly publications also contain expert analysis on topics or issues, such as a work of literature or a problem facing society. Many of them are peer-reviewed before publication. Peer-reviewed means the work undergoes a series of reviews by other experts in the field to ensure the quality, credibility, and accuracy of the information.
Experts in a field write scholarly information for other experts or academics to read and advance their knowledge of the field. The information can sometimes be challenging to understand for non-experts. Scholarly publications often use technical and scientific terminology and assume prior knowledge of the subject matter. In addition, they tend to be longer and more in-depth than popular or trade information and focus on specific aspects of an issue rather than a broad overview. Virtually all scholarly publications include a bibliography, works cited, or reference list of sources consulted or mentioned by the authors.
Benefits → good for academic topics that require expert study, critique, and analysis.
Drawbacks → long, technical/scientific language, narrowly focused
Popular information informs and entertains the reader. Magazines like Newsweek and Time, newspapers like the Orlando Sentinel, and books like an unofficial Michael Jackson biography are examples of popular publications. A popular publication will contain language easily understood by a general audience. Journalists or freelance writers usually write them and do not undergo a formal review by experts before release. Popular publications generally do not have full citations for information used to write the piece.
Sometimes, popular information is desirable for research. Magazines and newspapers include non-technical language and are usually jargon-free for easier reading. They tend to cover issues with relatively brief, broad overviews. Popular publications can be a good place to learn the essential components of a topic, understand the varying viewpoints surrounding an issue, or discover potential angles to explore with more profound research. Often, popular publications report on existing research or provide context to news stories that reflect the general interest perspectives of an issue. Newspapers are mainly helpful for research on local issues that may not receive much, if any, coverage outside of the region. Popular sources are great for current information because their publication cycle is more frequent than scholarly sources.
Benefits → Current events, popular opinions, local issues, and a broad topic overview.
Drawbacks → Not evaluated by experts, topical coverage of an issue.
