LibGuides: ENG 151 Info Lit: Scholarly and Popular Sources

Popular vs. Scholarly

Knowing more about your source can help you evaluate it. Is it a popular source with background information meant for the general public? Or is it a scholarly source that was written by an expert on the subject and published by a peer-reviewed journal?

Scholarly Source - example

Applying health, safety, and environmental risk assessment at academic settings
Sample scholarly article (pages 1 & 3) found in Academic Search Complete (library database).
Dehdashti, A., Fatemi, F., Jannati, M., Asadi, F., & Kangarloo, M. B. (2020). Applying health, safety, and environmental risk assessment at academic settings. BMC Public Health, 20(1), N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09419-5

Scholarly Article Behind a Paywall (open internet)

Popular Source - example

College parents speak out on safety.
The image on the left is from the newspaper USA Today and was found in Opposing Viewpoints (library database)
Peter, Josh. "College parents speak out on safety." USA Today, 8 July 2020, p. 01C. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A628876762/OVIC?u=crys82357&sid=OVIC&xid=bb10c551. Accessed 5 May 2021.

These bracelets help restaurant workers show they got their Covid-19 vaccine
The image on the right is a popular article found on CNN.com (open internet).

ENG 151 Info Lit

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article

Popular vs. Scholarly

Scholarly Source - example

Scholarly Article Behind a Paywall (open internet)

Popular Source - example

Popular Article Behind a Paywall