General Research Guides
Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals
When doing academic research, you may need to include scholarly journals in your work. Journals and magazines are important sources for up-to-date information in all disciplines. Scholarly journals differ from popular magazines, as well as trade publications, in their content, appearance, and audience, for example. The differences between them are not always clear-cut, but the chart below will help distinguish them. Also keep in mind that popular and trade publications can include articles that are appropriate for academic research.
| Scholarly Journals | Popular Magazines | Trade Publications | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose |
To present original research in an academic area |
To report on the research of others, to inform, to entertain, and/or to sell products |
To provide information to people working within a specific industry or profession |
| Appearance | Plain, serious look; may contain charts and graphs; seldom have glossy photos |
Usually glossy paper; heavily illustrated with photos, illustrations, graphics |
Often contain charts, graphs, and some illustrative material relevant to a specific industry or profession |
| Author | A scholar or researcher in an academic field |
Journalists, staff writers, freelance writers |
Professionals in the industry of the publication |
| Audience | Scholars and students in an academic field |
General public |
People working within a specific industry |
| Research Methods | References cited in footnotes and/or bibliographies |
Sources may sometimes be cited in text, but information is often secondhand or thirdhand with no original source cited |
Articles might contain market statistics, industry trends, product information, but rarely references |
| Article Length | Long, in-depth articles |
Shorter articles with broad overviews of topics |
Usually short articles, press releases |
| Review Methods | Peer-reviewed by a group of scholars in the specific academic discipline before being accepted for publication |
Not peer-reviewed, but generally reviewed by an editor and/or fact checker |
Not peer-reviewed, but generally reviewed by an editor or an industry marketing rep |
| Language | Academic language of a specific discipline may be used; may assume some scholarly background on the part of the reader |
Can range from language geared to an educated audience to simple language written for a lower reading level |
Written using the terminology of the professional field |
| Publisher | Often an academic association or university |
Commercial publishers |
Commercial publishers, professional organizations |
| Advertising | Very little |
Almost always contain ads |
Usually contain advertising related to the industry |
| Sample Titles | American Economic Review; |
The Economist; |
Radio and Records; |
Some electronic research databases, such as EBSCO, allow you to limit your search by scholarly journals, magazines, or trade publications.
Page Last Updated: January 20 2012
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Research Tips
These Research Guides have been prepared by librarians to assist with your research. Read more:
Critically Analyzing Information Sources
Searching Electronic Resources Effectively
For more information on citation style, see:
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