Comparative Politics

Scholarly or Academic resources provide information on a field subject based on original research. Resources cycle through a peer-review or referee process to determine and examine if the research meets a standard of originality, accuracy, and scholarly integrity. 

Peer-reviewed

A group of subject experts evaluated the resources before being published in a scholarly journal.  When an article is Peer-Reviewed, the editors of the journal wishing to publish the item send it to scholars in the relevant field; e.g., an article about Biology would go to other biologists.  These scholars provide feedback about the article's pertinence to scholarship in their field, the quality of research and presentation of findings, and more.  This ensures that the articles that wind up in academic journals have educational merit and contribute to the overall research in the field.

Note: Not every article published in a scholarly journal is peer-reviewed.  Book reviews, letters to the editor, etc., are not peer-reviewed.

Refereed

 Other scholars in the field also refer to a Refereed Article.  However, in this instance, the reviews are blind.  In other words, the academic peers conducting the review do not know the name of the work's author.  In addition, it is often the case that the reviewers' names are not made known to the author.  This ensures that the work is judged solely on its merit rather than the author's reputation.  In addition, the manuscript must be reviewed by at least two other people.

Popular sources

Resources that are widely available, usually cheaper to acquire, and can be understood by almost every person with basic literacy skills. These works may be professionally edited but do not go through a jury process.

The term “popular”, in terms of sources, typically refers to general interest publications like newspapers and magazines. While not considered scholarly sources, some newspapers and magazines come from respected publications that can be used in certain assignments.