Scholarly vs. Popular Resources - Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper - Research Guides at University of Southern California

Types of Sources and the Peer Review Process

There are three types of publications that may appear in the search results of most social and behavioral sciences databases [i.e., scholarly search engines]. These are:

Scholarly sources -- intended for use in support of conducting in-depth research, often containing specialized vocabulary and extensive references to sources. In many cases, the content has been reviewed by other expects in the field to ensure the reliability of methods used and the validity of findings [i.e., peer-reviewed]. Scholarly sources help answer the "So What?" question in academic writing and lay the foundation for discovering connections between variables, issues, events, or phenomena.
Popular sources -- intended for a general audience of readers, they are written typically to entertain, inform, or persuade. Popular sources help you answer who, what, when, and where questions and are essential for finding information about current events or issues. Popular sources range from research-oriented [but lacking citations to specific sources] to newspapers and magazines to special interest, agenda-driven publications that are intended to persuade the reader to believe a particular way.
Trade publications -- intended to share general news, trends, and opinions among practitioners in a certain industry or profession. Although generally written by experts, they are not considered scholarly because they are not peer-reviewed and do not focus on advancing new knowledge discovery or reporting research results, except in the context of improving best practices and fostering innovation. Trade journals, however, are an essential source of information about emerging trends in the field of business and specialized industries [e.g., tourism, environmental studies, agriculture, manufacturing, etc.].

Defining What is Peer Reviewed

The terms "academic," "scholarly," and "peer-reviewed" [a.k.a., "refereed"] are often used interchangably to refer to the requirement that you use original, evidence-based studies conducted by experts when writing a research paper. However, while a publication can be identified as academic or scholarly, it may not have been peer-reviewed. A peer-reviewed publication [most often a journal article] is a study that has been thoroughly evaluated and critiqued by impartial experts [i.e., "reviewers"] to:

Maintain rigorous methodological standards of inquiry within a discipline,
Ensure the study fits within the overall purpose of the publication,
Evaluate the reliability and credibility of the overall study design, and
Ascertain a manuscript's suitability for publication by certifying that it exemplifies the best research practices within the discipline.

Manuscripts [i.e., complete, final drafts of a study] are rarely published as is. In fact, most are rejected or they are returned to the author because the manuscript requires significant edits and revisions to meet standards for publication. Manuscripts submitted for publication often go through a blind review process. A single blind review means the expert reviewers know who the author[s] are, but the authors do not know who is evaluating their work. A double-blind review refers to only the publication’s editor knowing the identities of the author[s] and the reviewers. The goal of a blind review process is to encourage honest and constructive critiques of the research without any influence from the author[s] and to avoid reviewers showing possible favoritism or an appearance of bias towards the author[s].*

NOTE: Not every article in a peer reviewed journal goes through the peer review process. Content such as editorials, commentaries, book reviews, and research summaries or updates, may be sent to the journal editor for editorial suggestions, but they do not go through a formal peer review process. When in doubt, always contact a librarian.

Adapted from text originally created by Holly Burt, Behavioral Sciences Librarian, USC Libraries, April 2018. Thank you, Holly!

* "Peer Reviews." The Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Jana, Siladitya. "A History and Development of Peer-Review Process." Annals of Library and Information Studies 66 (2019): 152-162.

Distinguishes between Scholarly Journals and Other Publications

Below is a chart developed by the USC Libraries instruction team that can help you distinguish between a digital or print scholarly journal article and other publications that can appear when searching a database

Content Feature	Scholarly/Academic	Popular Magazines	Trade Journals	Newspapers
Author	Scholar or researcher in an area o study with stated academic credentials and affiliations	Staff writer, journalist, often a generalist [i.e., writes about many topics]	Staff writer, practitioner, or journalist often with expertise in an industry or profession	Staff writer, journalist, or columnist
Sources and Documentation	All sources are cited; extensive bibliographies, list of references, and/or footnotes	May refer to sources in text but no formal list of references	No formal citations; may refer to other reports; may include a bibliography of resources	May refer to sources in text but no formal list of references
Editorial Process	Blind peer-reviewed [i.e., refereed] by multiple experts in the field	Reviewed by a single editor	Reviewed by a single editor	Reviewed by a single editor
Purpose	To present new research findings and expand knowledge in a discipline or specific field of study	To inform readers about current news, events, issues, or popular culture; to entertain	To inform those working in the profession of events, products, best practices, and other professional issues	To inform about current events and issues internationally, domestically, and/or locally
Structure of Articles	Lengthy articles divided into specific sections, such as, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion	Mix of short and in-depth articles on a wide variety of subjects often driven by broad societal issues, current events, or people in the news	Industry specific articles of varying length; report news and trends but there is no original research; often written in a conversational tone	Brief articles, with longer featured items; may include original investigations written in a journalistic style; often include interviews
Frequency of Publication	Annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly	Monthly or weekly	Semi-annually, monthly, or weekly	Weekly or daily
Publication Title	May contain the words "Journal of", "Review of" or "Annals"; may contain the name of a discipline or subject area; may be lengthy and include a subtitle	Straightforward; may address a general theme or subject; may be one word	Usually short; may be catchy; often contains the name of a trade or industry [e.g., Grocery Store News]	Simple; usually includes the city or geographic location of the publication
Appearance	Plain covers that vary little from issue to issue; primarily black and white; mostly dense text with few graphics; pages may be numbered consecutively throughout each volume	Very glossy and colorful; high impact visuals and design; some feature columns; many full page advertisements	Glossy with high impact graphics; regularly scheduled featured columns; pictorials of industry events; profiles of industry leaders	Newsprint; lengthy and brief articles; regularly scheduled featured columns; online editions are colorful with lots of links and graphic advertising
Language	Complex; follows standard academic writing style; includes discipline-specific jargon or technical terms	Simple and non-technical	Mix of jargon and detailed technical terminology	Mix of simple and fairly sophisticated
Illustrations	Complex tables or graphs to display research data; may be in appendices	Photos and colorful graphics for visual impact or entertainment	Colorful graphics and photos for emphasis or to illustrate a product or process	Photos and graphics used for emphasis
Advertisements	None, or limited to books, other journals, and professional meetings	Very frequent	Frequent, targeting a specific trade or industry	Often large and very frequent
Intended Audience	Readership directed to scholars, researchers, scientists, and students within a specific area of study	General public	Industry leaders, professionals, practitioners, and associated stakeholders	General public, some with specialization (e.g., Financial Times intended for readers in business)
Value and Usefulness in Research	Essential for understanding and analyzing a topic in detail and to design a coherent, well-organized original research study	Limited; news magazines can be useful for following current events	Limited only to understanding news, emerging trends, and best practices within specific industries and professions	Essential to following current events and providing local coverage of issues and events

Chapmana, Julie M., Charlcie K. Pettway, and Steven A. Scheuler. “Teaching Journal and Serials Information to Undergraduates: Challenges, Problems and Recommended Instructional Approaches.” The Reference Librarian 38 (2002): 363-382; Cockrella, Barbara J. and Elaine Anderson Jayneb. “How Do I Find an Article? Insights from a Web Usability Study.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 28 (May-June 2002): 122-132; Usdansky, Margaret L. “A Weak Embrace: Popular and Scholarly Depictions of Single-Parent Families, 1900 - 1998.” Journal of Marriage and Family 71 (May 2009): 209-225.