Popular and Scholarly Sources script
SLIDE 1:
Welcome to the tutorial on popular and scholarly sources.
SLIDE 2:
In this tutorial, you’ll learn:
[click] the differences between scholarly and popular sources as well as
[click] tips on when to use each type of source.
SLIDE 3:
What is the difference between scholarly and popular sources?
The first major difference between the two is the intended audience for each type of
source. [click] Popular magazines are written with a general audience in mind; popular
articles are written so that no specialized knowledge is required to understand the article.
Overall, you can think of popular magazines as those that you can find in a bookstore or
grocery store.
[click] On the other hand, scholarly journals are intended for individuals with specialized
knowledge of a field, such as a researcher working in the field or a student who is
studying the field. The authors assume that individuals reading the journal already have
some knowledge of the subject matter. Scholarly journals are generally available by
subscription only.
In addition to differences in the intended audience, popular and scholarly sources also
vary in terms of their purpose, who writes the articles, and who reviews the articles.
For popular articles, [click] the purpose is to broadly cover current issues and research.
These articles are usually written by journalists or other generalists without specialized
knowledge of the field, and the articles are then reviewed by the magazine’s editor –
another generalist.
On the other hand, [click] scholarly articles report current research and findings in a field
of study, and include details about the methods used in a study and the data obtained
from that study. The articles are written by researchers and experts in the field, which are
then reviewed by other experts in the field to ensure the quality and reliability of the
article and reported results. This review process is called peer-review, and it is done
anonymously – the individuals reviewing the article do not know who wrote the paper,
and when the author receives comments from the review process he or she does not know
who made the comments.
As a results of these differences in audience and purpose, the same information may
appear in both popular and scholarly sources but be reported very differently. For
example, if a study found a vaccine against breast cancer, an article reporting the study in
a scholarly journal would contain information about the methods used to test the vaccine,
as well as reporting much of the data obtained in the study. Articles in popular sources
would report general information about this study and report the vaccine’s overall
effectiveness.
SLIDE 4:
Now that you understand the difference between popular and scholarly articles, how do
you identify them? Especially when you’re facing a search results screen, where popular
and scholarly articles aren’t labeled differently?
There are a few indicators you can use to identify whether an article is scholarly or
popular when faced with [click] results in a database. [in camtasia highlight as point out
different features] Article length is one indicator; popular articles tend to be shorter,
usually five pages or less. Scholarly articles tend to be longer because they involve
detailed descriptions of the methods used and discussion of the results. The presence of
cited sources is a good indicator that it’s a scholarly article. Finally, the publication date
can also help you decide whether an article is popular or scholarly. Because scholarly
journals go through the peer review process, they are published less frequently than
popular sources. As a result, scholarly journals are usually published monthly or
quarterly, while popular magazines can be published weekly or monthly; if an actual day
(not just a month) of publication is provided in the citation, the article is usually popular.
If you can look at the abstract or full text of an article online, there are additional
indicators you can look for. [click] If information about the university or research
institute the author works for is provided, then it’s a scholarly article. [click] If there’s a
section about the methods used, then it’s a scholarly article. Sometimes scholarly articles
will even have [click] revision dates listed; while they are not present in all scholarly
articles, if the information is there, it’s definitely a scholarly article.
SLIDE 5:
If your instructor says you need to use scholarly sources, then the decision on whether to
use popular or scholarly sources has already been made for you. However, your instructor
may require only a few scholarly sources or may not specify what kind of sources you
need. In this case, you will need to decide whether to use popular or scholarly articles.
You can use popular articles to [click]:
Get a broad overview of a complex topic, particularly when you are not familiar with the
subject area.
Get an idea of the popular perspective on a topic.
Get an idea of what is currently being written on a topic.
Find editorials and opinion pieces.
In contrast, you can use scholarly articles to [click]:
Find the latest research results.
Check the accuracy of data or statistics you find elsewhere.
Review the important research on a specific topic or theme.
SLIDE 6:
So, know that you know how to identify scholarly and popular articles as well as when
you might want to use each type, how do you do search for each type?
It’s easier to restrict your search to only scholarly articles, instead of only popular
articles. [click] Most databases will have a limiter that restricts your search results to
scholarly, sometimes referred to as peer-reviewed, journal articles. It’s important to note
that using this limiter restricts the search results based on information at the journal-level;
some articles in scholarly journals are not peer-reviewed, such as editorials, book
reviews, and short news items.
You can also use [click] publication type or document type limiters to target your search.
If you’re searching for scholarly articles, you can look for types such as clinical trial, case
study, or other types of scholarly studies. Limiting by publication type or document type
is also useful if you are looking for a particular type of popular article, such as an
editorial, book review, or interview.
SLIDE 7:
In this tutorial on popular and scholarly sources, you learned
the differences between scholarly and popular sources as well as
tips on when to use each type of source and how to find each type.