A "popular source" is written for a general audience, often found in magazines, newspapers, or general websites, and is typically not peer-reviewed, while a "scholarly source" is written by experts in a field, published in academic journals, and usually undergoes a rigorous peer-review process, providing in-depth analysis and citations to support claims. 

Key differences:

• Author Credentials:

  Popular sources often have journalists or staff writers as authors, whereas scholarly sources are written by researchers with advanced degrees in their field. 

• Peer Review:

  Popular sources typically do not undergo peer review, while scholarly sources are rigorously reviewed by other experts in the field before publication. 

• Citations:

  Popular sources rarely include citations, while scholarly sources extensively cite their sources to provide credibility. 

• Writing Style:

  Popular sources use simpler language and may include more opinionated content, while scholarly sources use technical terminology and focus on presenting factual evidence. 

• Audience:

  Popular sources target the general public, while scholarly sources are aimed at experts within a specific field. 

Examples:

• Popular: Time Magazine, The New York Times, most online news articles 

• Scholarly: Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), Nature, academic textbooks published by university presses 

*Note that the links to example sources go through Penn State University Libraries' subscriptions, so they may look differently than you are used to. 

Links to databases for in-class exercise

Links for map evaluation exercise