Q. What is the difference between popular and scholarly articles?

Scientific Literature

Professional Literature

Popular Literature

Alternative Description

Scholarly journals,
Peer reviewed journals

Trade publications, government reports

Popular magazines

Content

Research projects, methodology, and theory

Summarizes ongoing information  about research field

News, opinions, and general interest articles

Author

Expert or specialist in the field

Expert or specialist in the field

Journalist, staff, or freelance writer

Purpose

Report research, advance knowledge

Provide general information about advances in field

Inform, persuade, or entertain

Editors

Board of experts in the field (refereed, peer reviewed)

General editors on staff

General editors on staff

Design/Layout

Plain, articles have methods, results, & discussion sections

Plain, articles have general layout

Glossy, eye-catching, articles have general layout

Advertisements

Few or none

Few or none

Heavy

Article Length

Longer

Longer

Shorter

Bibliography

Yes – always cite sources

Maybe

No- rarely cite sources