Scholarly |
Popular |
Trade |
Purpose - why are they published? | ||
To disseminate original research and scholarly discussions among scholars in a discipline. | To inform and entertain about current events and popular culture. | To advance a profession or industry; to inform and share info about news, trends, technologies, best practices, and products for a specific industry or profession. |
Audience - who reads them? | ||
Scholars, researchers, and students within a specific discipline. | General public. | Members of a profession or trade. |
Author - who writes them? | ||
Scholars, professors, researchers, and professionals. Their credentials are usually identified. | Journalists. Author may not be named. | Professionals in the field; maybe be a journalist with subject expertise. |
Publisher - who publishes or produces them? | ||
Scholarly book or journal publishers, university press, or professional association (National Communication Association - NCA) | Usually commercial groups. | Usually associations or commercial groups. |
Content - what do they look like? Are they readable by many? | ||
Mostly text; may have black and white figures, graphs, tables, or charts; few advertisements. Highly specialized; includes specialized vocabulary and jargon that is readily understood by researchers in the field, but not an average reader. Extensive list of references at the end |
Some text; glossy, color photographs; easy to read layout; lots of advertisements. General language is used; articles may be read and understood by most people. |
Some text; photographs; some graphics and charts; advertisements targeted to professionals in the field. Specialized; includes jargon that is best understood by professionals in the field. |
What are their Advantages? | ||
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What are their Disadvantages? | ||
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Credits: Content on this page was adapted from LMU|LA's Scholarly, Popular & Trade Publications, VC|UHV's Finding Scholarly or Peer Reviewed Articles: Scholarly vs Popular and UW's Savvy Info Consumer.
Reference materials are good starting points for research projects because they can provide background or introductory information on a topic.
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Books are a great way to find comprehensive information on a topic. Books tend to be broader in scope, with chapters devoted to narrower subjects.
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Scholarly articles are a great resource for finding in-depth, current information on a topic. Scholarly articles have a more narrow focus than books, so you can try searching for more specific topics.
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Magazines, newspapers and news websites are great sources for finding general, current information on a topic. Articles published in these types of sources are intended for a general audience, which can be useful for background information or an overview of a complex current-event topic.
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