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.
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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” cover Text with black & white graphs, charts, and photographs which support the author’s research |
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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 |
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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 |
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Ask a Librarian or call 574-372-5100, ext. 6297.