Information sources that have been written by academics, experts or creative practitioners in a particular field or discipline, and published in books, conference publications and academic journal articles, can usually be considered scholarly.
They may report on original research, review books and exhibitions, address current issues, or examine events through the lenses of history and theory. They are written for the research community, approaching textile design and cultural studies from an analytical and critical and perspective. They are your best source of information about practice, industry and design, as well as issues pertaining to sustainability, gender, race, politics and cultural heritage.
Both scholarly and non-scholarly materials have a place in art and design research, but scholarly sources should always be used when completing a piece of academic writing.