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Ethnic Studies 025/HIS 25 American Indian History & Culture: Scholarly v. Popular

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Scholarly Journals vs. Popular Magazine Articles

Scholarly vs. Popular Articles

Scholarly Journal

Purpose -  report on original research or experimentation

Length - longer, in-depth analysis 

Authors - expert or scholar in discipline, name and credentials provided

Language/Audience - jargon of discipline for scholarly readers

Format/Structure - serious look, structure (abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion), always cite sources

Evaluation - reviewed and evaluated by subject experts and editors

 

Popular Magazine Articles

Purpose -  to entertain, to sell products, to promote a particular viewpoint

Length - short, broad overview, litle depth

Authors - staff writer/journalist, name and credentials often not provided

Language/Audience - simple language, general readers

Format/Structure - slick, attractive appearance, not a specific format, does NOT cite sources, lots of graphics

Evaluation - not evaluated by subject experts or editors