What’s the Difference
Between Scholarly Journals
and
Popular Magazines?
Who wrote the article?
Popular
Scholarly
• Signed by the author
• Written by scholar or
expert
• Provides author’s
credentials and affiliations
• May have multiple
authors
• Most articles are
unsigned
• Written by journalist, staff,
or free-lance writer
Characteristics
Scholarly
Popular
• Sources cited:
bibliography or
reference list
•Probably doesn’t
contain bibliographies
• Endnotes & footnotes
•Written for a broad
audience
• Written using
specialized language
of the discipline
• May have an abstract
Editorial Oversight
Scholarly
Controlled by
peer review or
referee process
What is Peerreviewed or
refereed?
(See next slide)
Popular
•Reviewed or
assigned by editor
•Publication may
do fact checking,
spell checking and
grammar
6. Journal Editor
includes in
Journal issue
1. Author
writes &
submits article
manuscript to
journal
2. Journal Editor sends
manuscript to expert
reviewers to evaluate
quality of research, writeup, and conclusions
5. Author
revises
manuscript and
resubmits
Peer-review process
3.Expert reviewers return
manuscript to editor with
suggestions for changes, if
any, or recommendations to
publish or not to publish
4. Editor
reviews
suggestions &
returns
manuscript to
author for
revision
Appearance & Frequency
Scholarly
• Published quarterly or
monthly
• Utilitarian appearance,
few photographs
Popular
•Published monthly, weekly or
daily
•Contain many advertisements
•Journal may be in the title
(Ladies Home Journal), but the
publication isn’t scholarly
Content
Scholarly
• Focus on narrow
subject, detailed
analysis
• Longer articles,
usually about
research
• Charts, graphs or
tables
Popular
•Articles of general
interest or current
news
•Short articles (less
than 5 pages)
•Lots of photographs
and glossy paper,
eye-catching graphics
and layout
Publisher
Scholarly
• Published by
professional
association or
academic press
• Many journals
use successive
pagination
throughout the
year
Popular
Published by media
conglomerate or
commercial publisher
Scholarly
Popular
Available from
University Library, lab
or office
•Available from
newsstand or home
subscription
Scholarly
• May have multiple authors
•Articles are organized specifically, including an
abstract, a literature review, discussion of
methodology, and results or conclusions.
The previous descriptions apply to print versions
of popular magazines. Web versions, zines,
online newsletters may be different.
Most electronic journals will meet the same standards
as the print; you can use the same criteria to decide
if it is scholarly or not.
Still confused? There’s help!
Gale
Many databases provide assistance in
limiting a search to only peer-reviewed
articles.
Wilson
Ebsco
Or ask a Librarian
ProQuest
Think you’ve got it?
Hold on a minute, there are also
Trade Journals and Commentary that are out there as well.
American Libraries
The American Scholar
Police Chief
The Atlantic Monthly
HR Focus
New Republic
Tea and Coffee Trade
Journal
National Review
TRADE Journals
• Are published by professional or trade
associations
• Have a specific and limited audience
• Contain advertisements related to the
profession
• Provide a forum for job advertisements
• Use jargon of the industry
• Contain photographs of trade/industrial setting
Commentary
•
•
•
•
Intellectual subject matter
Comment on current issues
Cultural or political subjects
May have a political leaning, left
or right
• Literary, artistic, dramatic
criticism
These journals,
while not
reporting
research, may
be helpful if you
seek informed
opinions or
ideas.
CHECK WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR AS
TO WHETHER OR NOT THIS TYPE OF
SOURCE IS APPROPRIATE FOR
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Reference List
“Is it scholarly? Distinguishing periodical types online”. [website].
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Accessed from:
http://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/pertype.html. Accessed on:
July 13, 2010.
Gilroy, Susan. “Popular Magazines and Scholarly Journals:
Characteristics and Differences”. [website]. Accessed from:
http://hcl.harvard.edu/research/guides/lamont_handouts/scholarlyjou
rnals.html. Accessed on: July 13, 2010.
Pfeiffer, Mark. How To Distinguish Peer Reviewed/Scholarly Journals
from Popular/Trade Magazines. [pamphlet] Bell Library, TAMUCC,
June 2007.
Reference List (con’t)
“Popular vs. Scholarly Articles – Tutorial”. [website] University of
Arizona Library. Accessed from:
http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/tutorials/scholarly/. Accessed on:
July 13, 2010.
“Scholarly Journals, Trade Publications, and Popular Magazines”. [pdf
file]. ProQuest. Accessed from:
http://training.proquest.com/trc/training/en/peervsscholarly.pdf.
Accessed on: July 13, 2010.
Spink, Amanda, David Robins, and Linda Schamber. 1998. "Use of
Scholarly Book Reviews: Implications for Electronic Publishing and
Scholarly Communication." Journal of the American Society for
Information Science 49, no. 4: 364-374. Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost. Accessed on: July 13, 2010