Identifying a source as scholarly or popular can often be tricky. Here are some things to look out for. Keep in mind, not all of these must be true in order to make a source scholarly or popular, and sometimes the elements overlap in both, but this is a good start to determining credibility.
Scholarly Source | Popular Source |
Peer-reviewed | Newspaper or Magazine articles |
Written by expert in the field | Article displays ads |
Contains the elements of an academic article (Abstract, Introduction, etc.) | Written by a reporter or journalist |
Includes references to other scholarly articles or data sets | Contains cited sources |
If you are still unsure if a source is credible (whether scholarly OR popular), remember to: