Saudi Electronic University Academic Writing Standards and APA Style Guidelines: Acceptable Sources

During your courses at Saudi Electronic University, you will be asked to look at a variety of materials for your assignments.  In critical thinking and writing, the use of academic sources is the foundation of credible research.  There is a difference between popular literature (such as popular magazines, newspapers, and informational websites) and scholarly work (such as peer-reviewed research articles).

Things to keep in mind:

• Popular literature may be biased depending on the authors, editors and the possibility that the material reported is not researched.  This literature needs review in order to evaluate for authenticity and credibility.
• Scholarly or academic literature is well researched and peer-reviewed by persons in the established field of work.  The purpose of scholarly work is to inform and converse with the academic world about research. This literature will often contain a literature review, method of research, the results of the research, conclusion and References. 
• Inspiration for research topics can come from news or other popular sources but the majority of your research is expected to come from scholarly sources.  Each research instance will require you to determine how to use these resources in tandem with one another.

Need Help?

• See the Differentiating Periodicals page if you need help determining what type of journal or magazine you have.
• See the Peer Review graphic to understand what your instructor refers to when talking about peer-reviewed articles.  
• See the Anatomy of a Scholarly Article to know what to look for in original scholarly publications.
• Watch a video on popular vs. scholarly resources for further clarification.