General “Popular” Sources

“Scholarly” and “popular” are terms used to describe a source’s content, purpose, audience and more. Popular sources are intended for a more general audience and they can range from entertainment magazines to well researched investigative articles from the New York Times. With most scholarly sources we can rely on the peer review process to evaluate the authority and credibility of the research presented to us. With popular sources, it is up to you to determine whether the source is appropriate for your own research.

So what are Popular Sources?

• Magazines,
• newspapers (from your local daily news to the New York Times),
• books (online and in print),
• websites, social media, blogs and wikis etc., and
• media (including podcasts, movies and award-winning documentaries).