Tutorials & Guides : Scholarly Versus Popular Articles

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Characteristics	Scholarly	Popular
How can you tell the difference between a scholarly and popular article?
Publication Title	Often includes the words "academic" or "journal"	Often includes the word "magazine"
Author	Named scholars who are authorities in their field	Unnamed, anonymous, or staff writers
Review Policy	Articles are usually peer-reviewed or refereed (evaluated by experts in the field before accepted for publication)	Not peer-reviewed or refereed
Article Length	Usually longer articles (5+ pages)	Usually shorter articles (1-2 pages)
Purpose & Audience	Written to relay research to other scholars in the field	Written about current or general interest items for a broad audience
Advertisements	Few, if any	Numerous
Graphics	Often include graphs, charts, or tables	Colorful photographs or illustrations
Credits	Contain references, citations, or footnotes	Lack specific references, citations, or footnotes

Note: Some article databases, such as EBSCO and ProQuest databases, allow you to select "scholarly" or “peer-reviewed” as a search feature. The search results might also display in tabs for "scholarly" and "consumer."