Popular (also called non-scholarly) sources inform and entertain the public or allow practitioners to share industry, practice, and production information Examples: Newspapers, magazines, trade journals, popular books.
Scholarly (also called academic) sources disseminate research and academic discussion among professionals within disciplines; they are intended for university-level study and research, and are preferred when writing university-level essays. Examples: Journals and books.
Adapted from the CQ University Library.