In addition to recognizing the differences between primary and secondary literature, you must also understand the difference between scholarly literature and popular literature, as many search engines and databases include both peer reviewed journal articles and news articles from more popular sources such as magazines. As many of your assignments will require the selective use of peer reviewed and popular articles, it is important for you to be able to distinguish between the two.
- Are written by scholars and researchers (look for a university affiliation in the article)
- Include an abstract
- Include a bibliography or a list of cited references
- Use discipline-specific language
- Go through a rigorous editorial process
- Are written by journalists or writers who may or may not have any expertise in the article's topic
- Rarely have an abstract
- Often lack cited references or a bibliography
- Use language easily understood by the general public
- Undergo a limited editorial review
Popular magazines are a good source for general information on current topics, but it is important to read peer reviewed articles as well. For more assistance, try the Libraries' How Do I Distinguish Different Types of Journals guide.