What s the Difference Between Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines?

What s the Difference Between Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines?

Who wrote the article? Scholarly Signed by the author Written by scholar or expert Provides author s credentials and affiliations May have multiple authors Popular Most articles are unsigned Written by journalist, staff, or free-lance writer

Characteristics Scholarly Sources cited: bibliography or reference list Endnotes & footnotes Written using specialized language of the discipline Popular Probably doesn t contain bibliographies Written for a broad audience 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 5. Author revises manuscript and resubmits 1. Author writes & submits article manuscript to journal Peer-review process 4. Editor reviews suggestions & returns manuscript to author for revision 2. Journal Editor sends manuscript to expert reviewers to evaluate quality of research, writeup, and conclusions 3.Expert reviewers return manuscript to editor with suggestions for changes, if any, or recommendations to publish or not to publish

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 Available from University Library, lab or office Popular 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 Police Chief HR Focus Tea and Coffee Trade Journal The American Scholar The Atlantic Monthly New Republic 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