Peer Review & Source Types - HIST 38000: Junior Seminar - Sandlund

Scholarly vs. Popular Sources

What is a Scholarly Article?
Scholarly, Popular, or Trade?

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article
Describes the features of a scholarly article.

What is the Difference Between Popular, Scholarly, and Trade Articles?

Popular: These are articles written for everyone. They’re found in magazines like Time or People, often with glossy pages, pictures, and simple language.
Scholarly: These are written by experts for other experts. They include research, use technical language, and have lots of citations. They’re often plain-looking with few pictures.
Trade: These focus on a specific job or industry, like business or healthcare. They share news, tips, and trends but don’t include deep research or peer review.

TIP: In library databases like Business Source Complete, you can filter results by type, such as Academic Journals/Peer Reviewed or Trade.

Source: University of Texas Libraries, Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0 license.

Source Types Widget

Feature	Popular Magazines	Scholarly Journals (Peer Reviewed/Academic Journals)	Trade Publications
Content	News, entertainment, trends	Research studies, detailed reviews, book reviews	Business/industry updates
Purpose	To entertain or inform	To share research and scholarship with academics	To inform professionals
Author	Journalists, staff writers	Professors, researchers, scholars	Industry experts, staff writers
Audience	General public	Researchers, academics, students	Professionals in an industry
Review Process	Checked by editors	Reviewed by scholars/peers (peer-reviewed)	Checked by editors
Citations	Rare or informal	Always includes citations (bibliographies, footnotes)	Few or none
Frequency	Weekly/monthly	Quarterly or semi-annually	Weekly/monthly
Ads	Many ads for general products	Minimal ads, usually for academic books or journals	Ads for industry-related products
Examples	Time, Vogue	Journal of Business Ethics, New England Journal of Medicine	Library Journal, Accounting Today

Peer Review in 3 Minutes

What is Peer Review?

From NC State University Libraries

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

What's the difference between Primary and Secondary Sources?

Primary Source

A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Some types of primary sources include:

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS: excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records
CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, art
RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings

Examples:

Diary of Anne Frank - Experiences of a Jewish family during WWII
Newspaper story on the assassination of JFK
The Constitution of Canada - Canadian History
A journal article reporting NEW research or findings
Weavings and pottery - Native American history

Secondary Source

A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some types of seconday sources include:

PUBLICATIONS: Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias

Examples:

A journal/magazine article which interprets or reviews previous findings
A history textbook
A book about the effects of WWI

Borrowed from Kutztown University