Religious Studies: Articles - Popular vs. Scholarly

Books in UIW Libraries are considered scholarly sources.

Journals are considered scholarly sources.  They usually have the following characteristics:

• Written for a highly educated audience

• Articles are written by subject matter experts and may be peer-reviewed*

• Illustrative matter tends to be charts, graphs, tables

• Articles include bibliographies (also known as references, sources, works cited)

• Few or no advertisements

* Article manuscripts are read and reviewed by members of an editorial board who determine whether or not the article is suitable for publication.  See the following tab Peer Review Process for more information. 

Magazines are considered popular resources.  They usually have the following characteristics:

• Written for a general audience

• Contain lots of color - photographs, drawings, charts, graphs, maps

• Contain advertisements

• Written by a staff of writers or freelance writers