Scholarly vs. Popular Materials

The library provides access to all sorts of resources-books, journals, databases, and web resources. Not everything in the library (or on the Web) is purely academic, or scholarly, in nature. Materials that aren’t truly scholarly are called "popular."

Popular publications are usually intended for a general audience, and the articles are written by journalists. Journalists are not "bad," but they typically do not specialize in particular subjects. "Popular" publications also very often need to market their information and sell it, so they may be likely to report on what is interesting to its readers (as well as people they wish to acquire as readers) rather than what is truly important.

Professional and industry-specific publications are also not usually scholarly, but are more reliable than general news resources, especially if published by an organization of note in the field.

Scholarly materials are usually meant for real research; the audience for scholarly materials is usually composed of college students, professors, and serious researchers. The articles in scholarly publications are usually written by professors, researchers, specialists, or experts. Peer-reviewed or refereed ones are evaluated before they ever go to print. Here are a few things to think about when evaluating publications.

Audience – who is this resource aimed at? Is it intended to simply inform or entertain, or is intended to disseminate academic research?
Authority who wrote the article? Is that person simply a journalist reporting on a topic, or is that person a specialist? What are the credentials of the person writing the article?
Bibliography or notes – does the source use other sources or research? Does it cite those sources?
Vocabulary – does the source use every day language that anybody can understand? Or does it employ academic, technical, or specialized vocabulary?
Coverage – does the publication cover a variety of topics, or is its focus on one particular topic or field?
Other things to consider:

Is the publication peer-reviewed or refereed—that means other professionals or specialists (peers) review the material and determine whether the content of the article is appropriate and accurate.

Does it contain a lot of commercial advertisements? Or little or no ads? Are the ads general or related to the subject of the publication?

Examples of popular publications: Newsweek, Time, People, Sports Illustrated, Library Jounral (it's a magazine).
Examples of scholarly publications: Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Journal of Clinical Psychology.