"scholarly, adj. Relating to, or characterizing, a scholar or scholars; befitting, or natural to, a scholar; involving or concerned with research, education, and scholarship; academic, intellectual." OED
Scholarly sources (i) are written by scholars or experts in the field, (ii) aim to describe current research and new technology, (iii) include journal articles and textbooks, and (iv) contain references within and at the end of the text. Still confused? Here’s a video from MacMaster University Library describing the difference between scholarly and popular sources.
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