Understanding
Periodicals:
Scholarly versus Non-scholarly Sources
Non-scholarly Sources Non-scholarly
sources are intended to do several things: to provide
general information, to entertain, to sell products, or
to promote a viewpoint. These articles are commonly
written by journalists, freelance writers or staff
members and can be anonymous. These articles are written
for a general audience with limited knowledge of the
subject. The articles are also usually attractive in
appearance and heavily illustrated. Also
characteristic—non-scholarly sources rarely cite sources
used in the articles. They are often called magazines.
Next, please see
the table that
compares the characteristics of scholarly and
non-scholarly sources. This table is a very useful tool
for determining quickly if a source is scholarly or not.
Copyright 2006 by the Academic Center, the University of
Houston-Victoria, and David Felts.
Created 2006 by David
Felts. |
