Last Updated: 29 April, 2021 | Provide Feedback
Introduction
University-level assignments often ask you to locate Scholarly or Trade literature on your topic. While you might not have heard these terms before, telling the difference between a scholarly journal and a popular press source (like a magazine or newspaper) is actually quite easy. This chart will help you figure it out.
| Criteria | Popular | Scholarly | Trade | Grey Literature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose (Intent) | To inform, entertain, or persuade about current events or popular opinion and to make money | To inform, report, or make available original research, promote scholarly communication, or advance knowledge | To provide news, trends, or practical information or examine problems or concerns in a particular field, trade, or industry | To disseminate research quickly or respond to a public issue |
| Audience | General public | Scholars, researchers, and students of specific discipline or field | Practitioners of a particular field, trade, or industry | Professionals and researchers in the same field or industry and/or policymakers |
| Creator | Professional writers, journalists, freelance writers or creators that deal with a variety of topics regularly | Scholars or researchers with extensive credentials and experience in the specific discipline or field and usually associated with a university or other organization | Professionals or freelance writers or creators with experience in a particular field, trade, or industry | Individual scholars, government agencies, non-profit organizations and institutions, businesses, and think tanks but not through traditional publishers |
| Language (Tone) | Entertaining, non-technical language | Specialized terminology or jargon from the specific discipline or field | Specialized terminology or jargon used in the field or industry | Specialized terminology or jargon used in the field or industry |
| References | Sources rarely cited | Sources always cited | Sources occasionally, but not usually cited. This depends on the publication. | Sources are typically, but not always cited |
| Accountability | Content not evaluated by experts in the field; often published or produced by commercial organizations | Usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a subject expert or board of subject experts (peer review); published or produced by a scholarly organization or society (university, association, commercial enterprise, etc.) | Content may be evaluated by experts in the field; often published or produced by a trade association | Expert review differs for different kinds of grey literature. Many may not be reviewed at all |
Download More Information
For additional information about each source type, use the links below to access a printable handout:
- Popular Sources (PDF)
- Scholarly Sources (PDF)
- Trade Publications (PDF)
- Grey Literature (PDF)
- Reference Sources (PDF)
Get Help
If you have questions or need more help try Ask a Librarian or explore the subject guide for your discipline. Use the button below to download a printable version of this tutorial.
Types of Sources by The Teaching & Learning Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.