What is a Scholarly Source?

Hello, College Writing II blogreaders:
From the Franklin Pierce College Library website, here's a definition of a scholarly source:
A well-structured source written by experts and intended for experts, students, and scholars in the field.

Defining Scholarly Sources

A scholarly source is one that meets the following criteria:

* Authority
o Are the author or authors identified?
o Do they have scholarly credentials, or credentials within the appropriate field of expertise?
* Structure
o Do the authors cite the works from which they drew inspiration and/or information?
o Do illustrations relay vital information (charts, etc.), rather than simply making the article or book more attractive?
* Content
o Is the intended audience a group of scholars or a group of people who have expertise in a particular trade or profession?
o Is the language is specific to the discipline or intended for large audiences?

Don't think of a scholarly source as something that's been stamped SCHOLARLY SOURCE. Think of it as a resource which is authoritative, which is structured and presented professionally, and which has content and style appropriate to a scholarly rather than a popular audience.

Sometimes some of these criteria will be more important than others. For instance, a trade magazine on the advertising industry with an article on the marketing of beer to minors may be appropriate for a class in mass communication or marketing, but inappropriate for a class on the biological effects of alcohol on underage drinkers. While the publication is intended for people in a particular trade, and not mainly for scholarly consumption, the information in the magazine can be useful to students of advertising, rhetoric, and marketing.

From the Franklin Pierce College Library website/Instruction/"What's a Scholarly Source?!?" at http://library.fpc.edu/instruct/instruct05.html