Scholarly vs. Popular Journals
Scholarly or Peer-reviewed Articles
There are important differences between scholarly journals, trade publications, & general interest magazines.
| Scholarly Journals | Trade / Professional Publications |
General Interest Magazines |
|
| Purpose | To inform, report, or make available original research or experimentation to the rest of the scholarly world. |
These publications give practical information to people in an industry as well as showcase leaders in the field. |
They provide information to a general, educated audience on a range of topics. |
| Why use them? |
Often your professor will require you to use these sources. Using this type of information lends credibility to your own ideas and hypotheses. |
These publications can be useful when doing an analysis of a particular industry. Additionally, they can help you when applying for a job or preparing for an interview. |
Good for identifying potential topics for a research project as well as identifying current or hot issues. |
| Authors | Written by and for scholars or researchers in a specific subject area or discipline. |
Specialists or practitioners in a particular field or industry. |
Magazine's staff, an expert or scholar, or a free-lance writer. |
| Sources | Always cited as footnotes, endnotes or reference lists (bibliographies) at the end of an article. |
Sources are often mentioned within an article but rarely are cited at the end of an article. |
Occasionally cite sources, but this is the exception. |
| Language | Uses terminology, jargon and language of the discipline. Reader is assumed to have a similar scholarly background. |
Uses jargon specific to a particular field or industry but writing is for educated professionals. |
Uses language appropriate for an educated readership but doesn’t emphasize any discipline’s specific jargon. |
| Review process |
Articles must go through a strict review process by peers within the discipline. |
Minimal review by editorial staff and rarely by peers. |
Minimal review by editorial staff. |
| Graphics | Contains graphs, charts, and photographs specific to the research but seldom graphic art. |
Illustrations are usually charts, graphs, and photographs relevant to the article; some graphic art. |
Photographs, illustrations and graphics are used to enhance the overall publication. |
| Publishers | Most often published by a professional organization or specialty publishing company. |
Often published by professional organizations relevant to a particular field or industry. |
Generally published by commercial enterprises for profit. |
| Advertising | Often not present or small amounts of selective advertising. |
Advertising is relevant to the profession or industry. |
Includes advertising which appeals to a broad readership. |
| Examples | American Ethnologist Journal of Communication Science Magazine |
Nation’s Restaurant News Publisher’s Weekly Advertising Age Aviation Week and Space Technology |
Forbes Psychology Today Scientific American Time |