Information Literacy

Scholarly sources such as journals, academic books, and dissertations, undergo a formal evaluation process before publication. This helps to ensure high-quality information and accuracy of results. They are written by experts in their particular field and are often affiliated with colleges, universities, or research centers. Note that scholarly sources are not always peer-reviewed. 

Characteristics of scholarly studies:

• Reference/bibliographic list
• Defined research question(s)
• Qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research method
• Scholarly/Technical language intended for others in the same field
• Inferences made from findings
• Usually more than a single author who are experts, scholars, and/or specialists
• Scholarly, academic language
• Published by academic press or professional organization
• High page count
• Tables and figures that support research

Trade publications, or professional magazines, are written by staff writers or practitioners in a given trade or profession. These publications tend to publish news, statistics, trends and other information relevant to their industry. Most trade publications do not undergo a peer-review process; however, there are exceptions. 

Characteristics of trade source articles:

• Contains practical information for a specific industry
• Uses technical terms related to their profession with little to no explanation
• Author reports information from second-hand sources or personal experience
• Sometimes the author is not listed or qualifications are not indicated
• May not includes references, or not as many as a scholarly source
• Source contains advertisements relevant to the field as well as job postings
• Published by professional or trade associations

Popular sources such as magazines and newspapers do not typically go through the same review process as scholarly resources; in many cases, popular resources are reviewed by a single editor, who may or may not have expertise in the subject area. Popular resources are usually written for a broad audience and, as a result, tend to have little depth on the subject matter. The purpose of these sources is to entertain and sell more copies of their magazines.  

Characteristics of popular source articles:

• Rarely cites sources
• Provides news, opinions, or general interest
• Written for the general public: uses short sentences and simple, conversational language
• Easily accessible language
• Commercial publisher
• Low word count
• Tables and figures that support research
• Author reports information from interviews or second-hand sources
• Sometimes the author is not listed or qualifications are not indicated
• Usually illustrated with colorful photographs
• Source contains advertisements from other companies