The following source comparisons can help you in your research. Scroll down to see all or jump to a specific comparison.
| Scholarly | Popular | |
| Length of articles | longer articles, in-depth and detailed coverage | shorter articles, broad overview |
| Author | author usually an expert; credentials and contact information listed |
staff writer or freelance writer; articles often unsigned |
| Language | discipline-specific vocabulary, specialized knowledge of the discipline required to understand the article | no specialized background knowledge of the subject matter required to understand the article |
| Intended audience | researchers and experts in the field | general public |
| Article lay-out and design | structured articles with sub-headings like abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography | often do not follow a specific format or structure |
| Images | images that support the text are often charts or tables; few colour photos | colour photos support the text |
| Editorial review | experts in the field review and critically evaluate articles before publication | articles are not critically evaluated by discipline experts |
| Primary Sources | Secondary Sources | |
| Content |
created at the time of an event, or very soon after |
created after event; sometimes a long time after something happened often uses primary sources as examples expresses an opinion or an argument about a past event |
| Examples | diaries, letters, memoirs, speeches, manuscripts, interviews, statistics, treaties, laws, research articles, records of information collected by the government, organizations, committees (can all be primary sources) | history text books, historical movies and biographies (can all be secondary sources) |
Eamon, Michael. (Library and Archives Canada, 2004). Defining primary and secondary sources. Retrieved 09.05.07 from http://www.collectionscanada.ca/education/008-3010-e.html#e
| Strengths | Weaknesses | |
| Books | In-depth coverage |
accessible from the library during operating hours only usually only one copy available for loan |
| Periodicals |
Current Multiple users can access the same electronic article simultaneously |
difficult to identify the most important articles on a topic, as there's often so many |
| Websites | Accessible 24x7; free! | require extra-special evaluation, as websites can be posted by anyone |