Find Articles - SCI 133: Environmental Science - Ghaemghami - LibGuides at Roxbury Community College

Academic vs Popular Articles and Journals

Popular Literature vs. Scholarly Peer-Reviewed Literature: What's the Difference?

Purpose

Academic: To communicate research and scholarly ideas
Popular: To inform and entertain the general reader

Audience

Academic: Scholars and students
Popular: The general public

Scope

Academic: Very narrow and specific subjects
Popular: Broad variety of public interest topics, cross disciplinary

Authors

Academic: Scholars, researchers, experts, usually listed with their institutional affiliation
Popular: Employees of the publication, freelancers (including journalists and scholars)

Characteristics

Academic:

Little or no background information given
Technical language and discipline-specific jargon
Peer reviewed
Bibliography/References/Citations included
Procedures and materials often described in detail
Articles are longer, often over 5 pages

Popular:

Little technical language or jargon
Few or no cited references
No bibliography
General summaries of background information
Contain numerous advertisements
Articles are usually brief; between 1-7 pages

All Databases
Click this link to search all library Databases.

Recommended Databases

MEDLINE This link opens in a new window
MEDLINE provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE allows users to search abstracts from over 4,600 current biomedical journals.
Biomedical Reference Collection This link opens in a new window
Biomedical Reference Collection provides access to over 100 full-text journals covering such disciplines as clinical medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the pre-clinical sciences.
Science in Context This link opens in a new window
Supporting high school curricula and university coursework, Science in Context features authoritative information for assignments and projects and provides detailed coverage of popular subjects.
GreenFile This link opens in a new window
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
Environmental Studies and Policy Collection This link opens in a new window
Environmental Studies and Policy Collection has over 800 journals and six subject specific reference titles that provide robust coverage of environmental issues and policies, including diverse perspectives from the scientific community, governmental policy makers, and corporate interests.

SCI 133: Environmental Science - Ghaemghami

You can now chat with us by text message!

Text (857) 877 - 2255 to chat with a librarian.

Your carrier's text rates may apply.

Fall 2024 Library Hours

Monday - Thursday: 8:30 am - 9:00 pm

Friday: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Saturday: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Sun. CLOSED

Contact Us

Academic vs Popular Articles and Journals

Purpose

Audience

Scope

Authors

Characteristics

Recommended Databases