The purpose of the following information is to enable students to be able to distinguish between scholarly and popular articles. A scholarly article is an article published in a peer-reviewed or refereed journal. Peer-review is a process by which an article is examined by a panel of experts in the subject area before it is allowed to be published. Articles are usually longer than 5 pages. Mostly text, there are few photographs or graphics.
Articles are heavily footnoted and usually have a bibliography.
Concerned with academic subjects and often focus on research. May be published by a professional or scholarly organization in the area. Often published by a college or university. Often start with an abstract. Often list the credentials of the author, usually an expert in the field.