Does the article have footnotes, a bibliography, or list of references?
Scholarly literature typically has these elements and they are hallmarks of a scholarly work. Does the article contain tables, charts, and very few (or no) photos or drawings? Articles that are illustrative of the concepts covered in the work, but are not glossy or eye catching are more likely to be scholarly. Does the article report the results of research or experiments? Peer reviewed, scholarly works are more likely to contain this type of information. Is there reference to statistical tests and levels of significance within the article? The use of statistics, commonly understood by researchers in many fields, is one likely tip off that the article is scholarly. Does the article have an abstract or summary before the article itself? Many scholarly journals require an abstract or summary be written by the author for quick analysis of the material covered in the article. Abstracts and summaries are not often seen in popular literature. According to the Online Writing Laboratory at Pur
