Often you'll see assignments that require you to use a certain number of "Scholarly" Sources.
A Scholarly Source is one written by and for scholars (researchers or professors) on a certain topic. Typically, scholars are trying to create new knowledge in their field and share it in conversation with others.
Often, scholars publish in Peer-reviewed journals, but not always (many fields focus on books and there is a growing movement of 'Digital Scholarship" with different communication tools)
Because the primary audience of these sources is scholars, these sources can be challenging to understand. Here are a few examples of reading strategies for scholarly sources: