The following guidelines will help you determine which resources are considered popular:
Presentation
- Tend to have a number of advertisements and photographs or images.
- May be very colorful.
- Shorter articles than scholarly resources, typically less than five pages and often briefer.
- May not have standard formatting.
Authors and Editors
- Authors or creators are not necessarily experts on the topics they are discussing.
- Authors may be journalists, staff writers, or freelance writers.
- Authors or creators may not be identified and their credentials may not be included.
- Typically do not undergo a peer review process like scholarly resources do.
Audience and Language
- Language used is at a level which the general public will be able to understand.
- Language is not technical.
- Language can be emotional, inflammatory, or bias.
- Created for general audiences.
References
- May be difficult to determine where the author or creator is finding their information.
- May not have supporting evidence for arguments made.
- Typically do not include citations or a formal reference list.