Scholarly and Non Scholarly Sources Do not use academic citation protocols, i.e. works cited page, footnotes, or bibliographies Professional literature can be biased in favor of the profession, e.g. Restaurant News is not likely to advocate for a higher minimum wage. May contain valuable information, but also can be biased or even a hoax. Though not, "scholarly," newspapers are encouraged to be accurate because of libel and defamation laws. However, newspapers may be predisposed to a conservative or liberal point of view, e.g. Washington Times vs Washington Post Follow established protocols for documenting sources and evidence, allowing readers to repeat the research. These follow standard citation protocols (like MLA or APA) but also submit articles to a panel of anonymous experts for review. Conference papers are usually vetted by two or more readers. Not as stringent as peer reviewed journal, however.

Faculty often ask students to use "scholarly materials" or "scholarly sources." This request can be confusing if you've never been asked to make the distinction before. To say an article is scholarly or non scholarly is not to make a judgment about  its truth value. The National Enquirer may print, indeed often does print, the truth. A scholarly article makes it possible for the reader to come to their own conclusions about the claims an author is making. The reader can do this because scholarly articles are constructed in such a way that it is possible for a reader to repeat the research of the author and test its truth for herself. This is accomplished by citation protocols such as footnotes, end notes, works cited pages, bibliographies. Moreover, scholarly articles are often subjected to peer review, meaning that an anonymous "jury" of the author's peers, usually fellow experts in the subject under discussion, read the article and determine whether it should be printed, rejected or sent back for revision. Below is a chart comparing scholarly and non scholarly materials. The websites are clickable.