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Scholarly Journals |
Popular Journals/Magazines |
Professional or Trade Journals |
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Purpose |
Reports on original research & analysis done by scholars and experts in the field. |
Entertains or informs without a lot of technical detail. (news, opinion, special interests) |
Shares information about new products or techniques useful to people in a particular field or profession. |
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Authors |
Primarily experts (peers) in the field, university researchers, scholars, etc. |
Journalists, freelance writers, or an editorial staff. |
Specialists in a certain field or profession or an editorial staff. |
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Audience |
People with knowledge of the topic such as professors, researchers, scholars & students. |
General population or people with special interests. |
Professionals in a particular field. |
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Appearance |
Usually bland cover design, few advertisements, & frequently includes charts and graphs. |
Usually glossy with color illustrations and many advertisements. |
Frequently glossy with advertisements related to the particular field or profession. |
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Article length |
Generally long articles including original research or in-depth analysis of topics, usually with a very specific focus. |
Mostly shorter articles with broad overviews or reports on a particular event or issue. |
Usually short to medium length articles. |
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Content |
Original research and analysis. Usually includes abstract, methodology, summary, suggestions for further research & a bibliography or footnotes. Sometimes contains book reviews on new books in the field. |
Short general interest topics with some feature-length articles, news, and/or opinion. Sometimes includes book and film reviews. |
Trends, new developments, or future projections in a particular field or profession, and related news. Sometimes contains book reviews or ads for new books in the field. |
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Writing style |
Uses specialized terminology or jargon relevant to the discipline. |
Uses language that a high-school student could understand. |
Assumes reader is familiar with the field. Uses some specialized terminology or jargon. |
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References |
Includes references, footnotes, or a listing of works cited. |
Seldom has references. |
Articles may have references, but often do not. |
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Examples |
Educational Psychology American Journal of Education |
Newsweek Vogue Sports Illustrated |
National Paralegal Reporter Edutopia: What Works in Public Education Poets and Writers |