| Criteria | Popular | Scholarly | Gray Literature |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Authority/ Authorship |
Mostly journalists |
Scholars in an academic or professional field (i.e. doctors, lawyers, educators) | Government agencies or employees, NGOs, think tanks, corporate or industry groups |
|
Intended Audience |
Average adult, General Public |
Scholars or professionals in a particular discipline, field of study, or trade (psychology, medicine, law, etc.) | Politicians, general public, scholars in a particular discipline, practitioners in a specific industry |
|
Content |
General interest, Popular culture, General news, Entertainment |
Original research (such as scientific experiments, surveys and research studies), Critical analysis of topics relative to the profession, Charts, diagrams, and/or tables showing data or experiment results are often included |
Government/NGO research findings, technical reports |
|
Level of Language |
"Everyday" vocabulary/terms, Meant to be easily understood by all audiences |
Specialized vocabulary, Terms and concepts specific to a particular discipline or field of study |
Specialized vocabulary |
|
References or Bibliography of Sources |
Very rarely are any sources listed |
A list of references or sources is provided at the end of each article |
Some, but not all, reports contain a list of sources |
|
Review Policy |
Articles are reviewed by the magazine's editor or editorial staff |
An editorial board, composed of experts in the field, reviews articles to decide whether they should be accepted, Also known as "refereed," "peer-reviewed," "professional," or "academic" |
Varies by organization |
|
Advertisements |
Almost always and in high quantities |
Occasionally, but highly specialized and specific to scholarly discipline (i.e. specific laboratory equipment, medical tools and drugs) |
Advertising is usually not present |
|
Examples |
Time, Newsweek, People, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated |
Journal of American Studies, College Composition and Communication, Ecology, Annual Review of Plant Biology, Nature, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) | Michigan DNR reports, US Geological Survey technical report, UN Food and Agriculture Organization statistics and publications |