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ENGL 203: Canadian Literature with Professor Drake: Scholarly Sources

What is a Scholarly Source? 

Is a publication created by academics for academics. It follows the criteria below:

  • A  real, human author wrote it. 
  • The author is an expert in the discipline.
  • It is written for an audience of other experts.
  • It will contain in-text citations (footnotes, parenthetical, etc.).
  • It will have a list of all the sources referenced.
  • It should contain some kind of analysis.

If you are unsure if a specific source you found would be considered scholarly, consult a librarian or your professor.

Other criteria to consider for scholarly sources

Scholarly articles also have the following characteristics:

  • They use technical language. 
  • They are usually longer than popular articles, often exceeding eight pages. 
  • They include full citations of sources. 
  • The qualifications and credentials of the authors are provided within the article. 
  • They are often peer-reviewed.

If you've conducted a library search before, you may have noticed filters that allow you to limit your results to "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed" sources. While these filters can be a helpful first step in eliminating unwanted material, they are not foolproof.

Popular Sources 

Popular sources can be accessed through library catalogs and databases. When selecting materials from these sources, you must identify the source type you are examining. You can ask yourself: Is this a newspaper article? Is this a book review? For more information on popular sources, check this research guide: https://library.geneseo.edu/scholarlyvspopular