This table describes the differences between scholarly journals, technical/trade journals, substantial news/general interest magazines, and popular magazines based on the set of criteria in the left column.
These criteria may be used to determine where in the continuum from scholarly to popular a particular periodical (magazine or journal) falls.
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Audience & Purpose
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Audience: Specific professional audience of other scholars in the discipline or profession. Purpose: Reports or makes available original research or experimentation to the rest of the scholarly world.
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Audience: Specific professional audience of people in a particular discipline or profession. Purpose: Helps someone do their job better by reporting on new techniques (but does not report original research). Includes job listings and other news of interest to people in that profession.
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Audience: Educated audience with interest in the topics (not aimed at a professional group). Purpose: Provides substantial information to an interested audience. |
Audience: General audience. Purpose: Primarily entertains or persuades. Hidden agenda may include selling products or services. |
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Format |
Generally have grave, serious formats.
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Are attractive in appearance. |
Attractive in appearance. |
Generally slick & glossy with an attractive format. |
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Graphics |
Contain graphs and charts to illustrate the articles but usually quite plain in appearance with minimal use of color.
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Include photographs, illustrations and graphics to enhance the publication. |
Include photographs, illustrations and graphics to enhance the publication. |
Contain photographs, illustrations and drawings to enhance their image.
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Sources |
Cite sources with footnotes and/or bibliography.
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Articles may not be footnoted or may have few footnotes. |
Occasionally cite sources, but this is exception to rule. |
Rarely cite sources; Original sources can be obscure. |
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Authors |
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Written by people working in a particular profession.
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Written either by the magazine’s staff, a scholar, or free-lance writers. |
Written by the publication’s staff or free-lance writers for a broad based audience. |
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Language
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Use terminology, jargon and the language of the discipline covered. The reader is assumed to have a similar scholarly background.
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Use terminology and jargon of the field but are usually less formal in tone. |
Use language appropriate for an educated readership. They do not necessarily emphasize a specialty but do assume a certain level of intelligence. |
Use simple language in order to meet a minimum education level. Articles are kept short, with little depth. |
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Publishers |
Generally published by a professional organization or society.
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Published by professional association. |
Published by commercial enterprises for profit. |
Published for profit. |
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Advertising
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No advertising or very minimal, selective advertising. |
Advertisements are aimed at people in that profession -- including products and services of interest to them.
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Carry general advertising. |
Carry extensive general advertising. |
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Examples
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Journal of the Am. Chemical Society Harvard Business Review |
American Biology Teacher Chemical & Engineering News |
Psychology Today Newsweek |
Esquire Reader's Digest |
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ENGL201 Scholarly table.
Karl E. Mundt Library/ Dakota State University.
Based on document developed by Purdue University. Undergraduate Library
Scholarly peer review is a process to assure the quality of articles in a particular discipline or field of study. Work, activities, decision-making, and problem-solving need to be based on high quality evidence.
In scholarly peer-review, articles are evaluated by other scholars/specialists who are experts in the specialty/topic of the article.
Journals that use a peer-review process to select which articles they publish are called "peer-reviewed journals" or "refereed journals."
Using peer-reviewed scholarly journals helps you base your work and decisions on credible evidence.
The general public faces a more difficult situation when judging the quality of health/medical information, because they often search the open web where anyone can place any information.
When selling something is the motive, beware.
Read this blog post: Butter In Your Coffee and Other Cons: Stories From a Fitness Insider
Consumers, who lack the expertise of health professionals, should use known trustworthy sites aimed at the general public such as those listed below.
