Popular or “Scholarly”?
“Scholarly material”:
Is usually accompanied
by advertisements
2. Is usually identifiable by
detailed documentation
and bibliographies
3. Is written to appeal to a
wide audience
4. Will always have the
word “journal” in the title
1.
0%
1
0%
2
0%
3
0%
4
Signs of a Scholarly Source
Author is an academic writer, a scientist,
or an expert in his/her field
 Audience: other professionals
 Purpose: to inform
 Discussion usually very specific
 Bibliography of clearly-cited sources
 Has been reviewed by other experts in
the field

Clues that an article is from a
“popular source” include:
In-text citations and a
bibliography
2. Many graphics and/or
advertisements
3. The writer does not
assume that the reader
has prior knowledge
about the topic
4. Both 2 & 3
1.
25%
1
25%
25%
2
3
25%
4
Signs of Popular Sources






Author is usually a freelance or staff writer
Audience: the general public
Purpose: to entertain and inform
Discussion usually general; provides an
overview
Sources not cited or mentioned very
generally (“Baker says that _____,” but no
further citation information is given)
Approved by an editor/editorial board
The Journal of Popular Culture is
1.
2.
Scholarly
Popular
50%
1
50%
2
Newsweek is…
1.
2.
Scholarly
Popular
50%
1
50%
2
ARTnews is…
1.
2.
Scholarly
Popular
50%
1
50%
2
Sometimes
popular sources
are entirely
appropriate.
Sometimes they are not.
Primary vs.
Secondary
Which is a “primary source”?
A taped interview with
President Obama
2. An encyclopedia article
3. A biographical article of
Michelangelo in Art
History
4. An article about health
care reform in
Newsweek
1.
0%
1
0%
2
0%
3
0%
4
A Primary Source

Is an original source of information; not
filtered through a third party’s viewpoint
Historical documents (e.g., the Declaration of
Independence)
 Literary works (like The Brothers Karamazov,
Othello)
 An eyewitness account of an event (interview
transcript or tape)
 Account of an experiment or study (this
includes some scholarly articles)

…all primary sources
A Secondary Source

Comments on or interprets other
sources, often discussing several
sources at once
These are all secondary sources.
Encyclopedia articles
 Explanations of a study or survey (this
includes some scholarly articles)
 Most popular sources (like news articles
that talk about a recent medical
breakthrough)
 Your research paper!

What to do with your sources?
Compile them in an
annotated bibliography!
Not scary
 Basically it is a bibliography
(or list of “works cited”)
 With annotations

Which of these is included in a
citation on a Works Cited page?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Dewey Decimal
number
Date of publication
ISBN
Both 1 & 2
25%
1
25%
25%
2
3
25%
4
A bibliography entry in MLA
Garcia Coll, Cynthia T., Robin CookNobles, and Janet L. Surrey. Building
Connection Through Diversity.
Wellesley, MA: The Stone Center,
Wellesley College, 1993. Print.
… and in APA
Garcia Coll, C. T., Cook-Nobles, R., &
Surrey, J. L. (1993). Building connection
through diversity. Wellesley, MA: The
Stone Center, Wellesley College.
An annotation is:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The information
listed on the
Bibliography,
Works Cited, or
References page
An introduction
A short summary
with comments
The text of the
article
0%
1
0%
2
0%
3
0%
4
Writing the annotation
Write a sentence to get the main idea of the
book or article across
 Jot down the main points so you make sure
to include them all
 Write a paragraph or two describing the work
and whatever conclusions the author(s)
reach
 Try to use important terms from the work
itself, but be careful not to plagiarize by
overdoing it!

So we take our bibliography
entry:
Milner, Joel S. “Medical Conditions and
Child Abuse Potential Inventory
Specificity.” Psychological Assessment
3.2 (1991): 208-212. PsycARTICLES.
Web. 5 Oct. 2009.
… and our annotation…
This article reports a study of parents
facing two different kinds of medical
stress and whether these stressors may
lead to child abuse. The study notes a
correlation between parental stress and
an increased occurrence of child abuse.
General life stress unrelated to the
parent/child relationship did not show a
correlation with increased child abuse.
And combine them to make
an entry for our annotated
bibliography.
Milner, Joel S. “Medical Conditions and Child
Abuse Potential Inventory Specificity.”
Psychological Assessment 3.2 (1991): 208212. PsycARTICLES. Web. 5 Oct. 2009.
This article reports a study of parents
facing two different kinds of medical stress
and whether these stressors may lead to
child abuse. The study notes a correlation
between parental stress and an increased
occurrence of child abuse. General life stress
unrelated to the parent/child relationship did
not show a correlation with increased child
abuse.
Justice, Blair, and Rita Justice. The Abusing Family. New York:
Human Sciences Press, 1976. Print.
This book examines the factors that can lead to child abuse,
intervention techniques, and preventative measures….
Look for These Signs: Child Abuse. Harrisburg, PA: Bureau of Child
Welfare, n.d. Print.
This list of warning signs of child abuse is intended to help
hospital workers identify and report abuse….
Milner, Joel S. “Medical Conditions and Child Abuse Potential
Inventory Specificity.” Psychological Assessment 3.2 (1991):
208-212. PsycARTICLES. Web. 5 Oct. 2009.
This study notes a correlation between parental stress and
an increased occurrence of child abuse….