There are some non-scholarly sources that look a bit like academic or scholarly journals:
Written by practicing professionals, these often discuss trends in a particular field. This is important, but these are not scholarly sources.
Some of these may be well-regarded (TIME, Science, or National Geographic, for example), but they don’t count as scholarly sources.
Some of these might be reputable (for example, the Washington Post or the New York Times), but they aren’t scholarly either.
These sources can still have applications in academia! For example, they can give social context or highlight important historical events-- but they are not scholarly sources and should not be counted as such. It should go without saying that fictional books are not scholarly (novels, novellas, short story anthologies, etc.), but they can be the subject of a scholarly work. Examples of this might include research on recurring themes in a fictional piece, critical analysis of a play or poem, examination of the historical context surrounding a particular work, or other similar research.
