Popular vs. Scholarly Articles
When looking for articles to use in your paper, you should realize that there is a difference between "popular" and "scholarly" articles. Popular sources, such as newspapers and magazines, are written by journalists or others for general readers. While scholarly sources, are written by experts in their fields for students and researchers. Scholarly journals are sometimes referred to as "peer-reviewed," "refereed" or "academic."
Search Engines vs Library Databases
Web pages, blogs, and Internet sites that you find with Google, Yahoo, and others can be helpful and fun. But, do they provide the quality of information that your instructor expects in your paper? Is the information found on the Internet available for free? These are key questions to consider when you find information on your topic directly from a search engine. Library databases offer hundreds of reliable and reputable sources that are specifically targeted at students, with no access fees, and available from home!
