Journals & Periodicals: Identifying Scholarly Sources

Scholarly

Popular

Trade

• University press, non-profit scholarly society or for-profit publishing house

• Commercial publishers

• Professional associations, trade organizations or specialty publishers.

• Writers are scholars or qualified researchers

• Scholars of equal standing (peers) or other qualified experts review each article submission before publication acceptance.

• Peers or jury may be outside experts or an editorial review board.  Peer reviews are often "blind" - to ensure fairness, the authors names are hidden from the peer reviewers.

• Writers often work for the magazine.

• Acceptance based on timeliness and/or commercial appeal.

• Editor or editorial staff decide what goes into each issue, but the publisher has final say.

• Articles are usually reviewed by the publication's editorial staff for mistakes in grammar and spelling but some trade publications do have a version of the peer review process. 

   

• To disseminate knowledge in a particular field or discipline.

• Present original research, reports statistics.

• In-depth analysis of topics.

• Reviews of current literature in the field / notable books, publications, translations.

• Aim for objectivity & balanced representation of issues.

• Often non-profit.

• Generally for-profit / profit driven.

• To entertain or provide general or niche-market information & news.

• Feature stories, interviews, reporting.

• Generate ad revenue - sell products or services.

• May be biased towards a particular point of view, but generally tries to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

• Focused on a particular industry (i.e. heavy equipment rentals industry, the hospitality industry) or a professional trade (nurse practitioners, human resource managers, etc.)

• Generally lengthy articles accompanied with bibliographies.

• Authors(s) set out to prove or disprove a thesis.

• Language is formal and technical; discipline specific and assumes a certain level of knowledge on the part of the reader.

• Book reviews / motion picture / exhibition reviews are lengthy and may rival feature articles in richness of content and commentary. (Some scholarly periodicals do nothing but review other scholarly publications)

• Content varies - Generally newsy and/or entertaining. 

• Article length varies, but will be much shorter than an article in a scholarly publication.  Feature or cover articles or stories are interspersed with regular features or sections.

• Book reviews / motion picture reviews / exhibition reviews.  Reviews are much shorter then reviews found in scholarly journals; Reviews are geared towards the potential consumer.

• Language is is casual, conversational or anecdotal.  Reading level & vocabulary is typically kept at or below 12th-grade level.

• Coverage of current industry news, developing trends, corporate news (buy-outs, mergers, expansions, etc.)

• Although the articles found in many can be quite well-researched and substantive, these periodicals are geared towards those working in their industry - not necessarily scholars or academics studying that industry. 

• Information may be the result of experience in the field as opposed to research data.

• Articles are sometimes published without an author's name attached.

• Extensive documentation - sources are cited.

• Bibliographies, Endnotes and/or Footnotes are provided.

• Always a statement of responsibility - articles are signed.

• Usually does not include documentation or citations of sources.

• Articles or content features may or may not be signed.

• Sources are not always formally cited, but may be included in a brief bibliography at the end of an article.

• Generally a sober & serious look - plain fonts, lots of text, un-fancy layouts, more substance than style.

• Few (if any) ads - advertising is rare.

• Illustrations: Sometimes none, sometimes illustrated with maps, charts, graphs.

• Look for charts and graphs in journals presenting research data; Social science journal articles may have maps, charts or other illustrations to provide context. 

• Art / photography / media journals are the most heavily illustrated scholarly journals, providing glossy photos and high-quality color illustrations, but generally scholarly journals are less illustrated & visually-oriented than popular or substantive publications.

• Lots of advertising - generally heavily commerical.  Ads are colorful and striking.

• "Glossy" - very graphic - lots of photos & illustrations.

• Limited commercial advertising for general audience, but does contain advertisements targeting others in the same field.

• Charts and graphs may be included to support article content. 

• Target audience is usually discipline focused / specialized.

• Scholars, univeristy faculty and students; specialists / professionals.

•  General public or special interest or niche-market.

• Practicing professionals in a particular industry or related industries.