CRITERIA |
POPULAR |
SCHOLARLY |
Audience |
Intended for a general audience with no special knowledge of the subject. |
Intended for scholars, professionals and others with specialized knowledge of the subject. |
Author |
Written by a journalist or layperson without significant academic or professional credentials in the field. |
Written by an acknowledged or recognized expert in the field, such as an academic scholar or prominent professional. |
Content |
Consists of general interest items, hot topics, opinions, current news or events, or introductory or overview information. |
Consists of research reports, comprehensive and detailed treatments of a specific area of study, or critical reviews. |
Style |
Uses basic language that the average person understands. |
Uses jargon (terminology specific to the field) that only experts and scholars will fully understand. |
Publisher |
Published by a trade publisher for mass market sales. |
Published by a scholarly or academic press for a limited interest market such as libraries and specialists in the field. |
Purpose |
Written to inform the public about a topic of interest to everyone. |
Written to share the results of new research or to inform other experts of a new discovery or theory. |
Please note that Popular and Scholarly classifications are NOT the same as Primary and Secondary!