magazines | newspapers | general audience books | free web sites | broadcasting services

Description: After research has been published in scholarly journals it often catches the interest of the general public, either because it relates to an important issue being discussed or seems to affect public policy or have social impact.

Sometimes researchers write up their research results in a way that appeals to a general reader and publish articles without all the details of methodology or data that was included in the scholarly article. Reporters may write about the research in newspapers and other general publications using the original report or scientific article as a source. While the reporters may be knowledgeable about the scientific topics, and their editors will examine the articles for quality, these articles are not subject to the same ‘peer review’ as academic literature and, therefore, cannot be considered ‘scholarly’ publications.

Types of popular literature

Magazines
General interest periodicals, typically published weekly or bi-weekly. Most research reaches the notice of these publications only when it has news interest or significant social impact.

Newspapers
Local, regional, or national publications, typically published at least once daily, containing reports of current events and factual stories of interest to a specific reader community. These stories don't always focus on aspects of the research that scholars and professionals find most significant, but on those likely to be of greatest interest, or appeal, to the general readers of the publication.

General audience books
Books typically published by commercial publishing houses for a general, or non-specialized, audience. The most academic of these will attempt to communicate significant research into terms with which a general audience educated at an undergraduate or even high school graduate level would be familiar and comfortable.

Free Web sites
A World Wide Web site can be "published" by anyone with access to a host computer, or server, and a network connection. This technology is used by individuals, commercial companies, nonprofit organizations, advocates and lobbyists, hate groups, educational institutions, government agencies, collectors, chatters, and "all the ships at sea."

Broadcasting services
Television and radio stations, both analog and virtual, provide audio and/or video information for their audiences. The Internet combines both of these media into a single channel.

	Excellent sources for popular perspectives on any issue or event. Current issues of popular magazines and newspapers are easily accessible at most newsstands Internet and broadcast sources can provide updates as they occur.
	Lack the authority of peer-review. Content selected for its appeal to audience, rather than its credibility or basis in fact and research. Internet sources can disappear overnight, or faster.

Selected resources for finding popular literature

Magazines

Expanded Academic Index

Public Library catalogs
Public libraries collect materials for their respective communities and, therefore, tend to take a more popular approach to collecting information sources. While research libraries like the University of Washington specialize in scholarship and research material, your local public library will likely have more popular, or general audience, material, through which they make a valuable contribution to scholarship in areas of public interest and popular culture.
Search the Seattle Public Library catalog >>
Search the King County Library system catalog >>

OCLC WorldCat
Consists of catalog records for material owned by thousands of libraries around the world.
Search OCLC WorldCat >>

Bowker's Book in Print
An index of books, audios, and videos available from U.S. publishers; database on publishers, distributors, wholesalers, and book agents; full-text reviews; and inventory data from wholesalers
Search Bowker's Book in Print >>

Google™
Google and other free Web search engines can provide access to many Web sites in many domains.
Search Google >>

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Use the Catalyst Portfolio Tool to build your own bibliography of popular REECAS literature >>