Scholarly vs Popular Sources
One of the most common ways you will hear sources classified is as either “scholarly” or “popular.”
A scholarly source is written by a scholar, and it contributes to a discipline by presenting new research findings, theories, analyses, insights, news, or summaries of current knowledge. Scholarly sources can be articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, and more.
Note
Many scholarly articles are written for other experts in the field, so they can sometimes be obtuse and challenging to read. However, the information they contain is highly reliable.
A popular source is everything else! These sources can be magazines, news articles, blog articles, trade publications, etc.
Note
Popular sources are usually written so that the average person can understand them, but they may not be as reliable and accurate as scholarly sources. These sources are good for more recent and ongoing events.
Because they are easy to find and understand, popular sources are very useful for preliminary research as you are brainstorming your research question.
Keep in mind that popular sources are the first rough draft of history; while they provide accurate in-the-moment information, they lack the in-depth analysis and abundance of facts that will be available in the future.