This document outlines the key differences between scholarly and popular journals. Scholarly journals are usually published by professional societies, have peer reviewers listed, use discipline-specific language, include references and statistics, and provide in-depth coverage of new research. Popular journals are written for general audiences, have catchy graphics and short articles without citations, and aim to entertain and promote viewpoints. Electronic resources with subject-specific indexes and longer articles with footnotes are more likely to contain scholarly articles.

1. Scholarly vs. Popular Journals

2. • Research Minute

3. Clues to a Scholarly Article/Journal
• Usually published or
sponsored by a
professional society or
association
• List of reviewers on the first
few pages (juried,
refereed, peer-reviewed)
• Language of the discipline
• May have the word
“Journal” in title

4. • Includes references,
bibliography, works cited,
statistics, and/or charts
• Author
information/affiliation
indicated
• Articles are usually lengthy,
and include an Abstract

5. • In-depth coverage of a
topic, often presentation of
new research
• No illustrations, unless a
chart, cover usually plain
• Articles are indexed in
specialized databases and
indexes, such as PsycInfo
or MLA Bibliography

6. Clues to a Popular
Article/Magazine
• Written for general public
• Vocabulary for general
usage and reading level
• Author may be not named
• Contains glossy
photographs, catchy
graphics

7. • Short articles, no
bibliography, footnotes,
references, etc.
• Main purpose to entertain,
sell a product, promote a
viewpoint
• Probably contains a lot of
advertising

8. • Broad range of topics
• Published by commercial
enterprises or individuals
Goal: $$$

9. Electronic Resources:
Scholarly vs. Popular
• The more subject-specific
the index, the higher the
probability that the articles
indexed are scholarly.
– PsycINFO indexes more
scholarly articles in
psychology than
Academic Search Complete

10. • Journal titles with the words
"Journal of the" or "Journal
for the" in the title are
usually scholarly
• Footnotes and/or a
bibliography in online
scholarly articles
• Typically, the longer the
article, the more scholarly

11. Setting Limits – EBSCOhost
Databases

12. Other Clues:

13. Other Types of Periodicals
Professional, Trade, Industry
Written for practitioners –
current trends, news, etc.
Commentary & Opinion
Written for general
educated audience –
commentaries, political
opinion, viewpoints

14. • Newspapers
– Written for general public –
current information, news,
local & regional information,
etc.