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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 informaiton 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Not peer-reviewed, but generally reviewed by an editor and/or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Not peer-reviewed, but generally reviewed by an editor or an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;
Archives of Sexual Behavior;
Journal of Communication;
Modern Fiction Studies |
The Economist;
National Geographic;
Psychology Today;
Sports Illustrated
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Radio and Records;
Advertising Age;
Purchasing;
Broadcasting and Cable
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