Professors will often require that you use articles from scholarly journals for research projects. Morgan Library’s online databases and print collection contain scholarly journals, trade journals, and popular magazines, and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the difference. This checklist summarizes criteria for each area of periodical literature.
. |
Scholarly Journals |
Trade Journals |
Popular Magazines |
Purpose |
-To present and report on original research findings in a specific field / discipline |
-To identify profession / industry trends and developments, and provide practical advice |
-To inform and entertain a general audience, produced and sold for profit |
Appearance |
-Plain, “serious” covers
-Text with black and white graphs, charts, and photographs which support the author’s research |
-Generally glossy covers
-Color photographs and illustrations used to support the article as well as draw in readers |
-Glossy covers
-Color photographs and illustrations used to support the article as well as draw in readers |
Authorship |
-Expert, scholar, or researcher in the field / discipline |
-Practitioner within the profession / industry or specialty journalist |
-Magazine writer or free-lance writer. Credentials often not provided |
Structure & Writing Style |
-Lengthy articles with abstract, literature review, methodology, results conclusion, and bibliography
-Uses technical terminology of the specific field / discipline |
-Brief articles with no set structure
-Uses jargon of the specific profession / industry |
-Usually brief articles but can be longer and sometimes structured
-Uses simple language , meeting a minimum education level |
Validity |
-Articles reviewed and evaluated by other experts in the field / discipline (peer reviewed / refereed) |
-Articles may be reviewed by one editor with knowledge related to the topic |
-Articles are not evaluated by experts in the discipline, but by editors on staff |
Bibliography |
-Each article includes full footnotes and/or bibliographies |
-Some articles include brief footnotes and/or bibliographies |
-Very few articles include bibliographies |
Examples |
-American Journal of Education
-Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
-Modern Fiction Studies |
-Indiana Business
-Instrumentalist
-Preaching |
-Christianity Today
-Newsweek
-Popular Science |
