WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
|
POPULAR
|
SCHOLARLY
|
| Who reads it? |
General public. |
Professionals in the field, scholars and "experts" |
| Who writes these? |
Reporters, journalists, almost anyone. |
Professionals, scholars and "experts". |
| What's in them? |
News, non-technical language, entertainment/general interest articles. No bibliographies and may be slanted to illicit an emotional response. |
In-depth research, technical language, original research studies, bibliographies and references. Typically more objective. |
| What do they look like? |
Consumer advertising, glossy photos, attractive layout. |
Dense text. Fewer, more specialized ads. |
| When/how are they available? |
Typically available: weekly and/or daily. Available at newsstands. |
Typically available: monthly, quarterly, or biannually. Usually subscription only. |
| What are they good for? |
Broad overview of complex topics, popular perspective, finding out what is being written about a topic generally. |
Current research findings, checking accuracy of data and/or statistics, reviewing important research on a specific topic or theme. |
| What else? |
Usually used as a secondary source. Editors and publishers decide what gets printed each issue. |
Primary source for lab or field research. Secondary sources for review articles. Panel of author's colleagues decide what gets printed in each issue. |
| Some examples: |
Some examples: Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, New York Times |
Some examples: Nature, Journal of Ecology, Climate Research |