CHARACTERISTICS
|
SCHOLARLY/PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS
|
GENERAL MAGAZINES
|
How to tell the difference between these two types of periodicals:
|

|

|
Content
|
Reports on original research; in-depth analysis of topics; statistical information; academic level book reviews; refereed or peer-reviewed
|
Current events and news; hot topics; brief, factual information; interviews
|
Length
|
Longer articles providing in-depth analysis of topics
|
Shorter articles providing broader overviews of topics
|
Authorship
|
Author usually an expert or specialist in the field; name and credentials always provided - researchers, academics, professors, scholars
|
Author usually a staff writer or a journalist; name and credentials often not provided
|
Language
|
Academic level writing & vocabulary; specialized language of the discipline; can be highly technical
|
Non-technical vocabulary; often simple language
|
Format/Structure
|
Articles usually more structured; may include these sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography
|
Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure
|
Editors
|
Editors/reviewers are experts in the same field as author(s); many participate in peer-review process prior to publication; rigorous publication standards; articles checked for content, format and style
|
Editors not academic experts in subject field of article; article topics often assigned or contracted; articles usually only edited for style and format
|
Publishers
|
Professional organizations; Universities, research institutes and scholarly presses
|
Commercial/trade publishers; corporate ownership
|
Special Features
|
Illustrations that support the text, such as tables of statistics, graphs, maps, or photographs
|
Illustrations with glossy or color photographs, usually for advertising purposes
|
Credits
|
A bibliography (works cited) and/or footnotes are always provided to document research thoroughly
|
A bibliography (works cited) is usually not provided; names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text; sources, when used, are rarely cited in full
|