Popular vs. Trade vs. Scholarly
Most periodicals fall into one of three categories: popular, trade/professional, and scholarly/academic. The table below gives examples and characteristics of each, so you can determine what category your sources fall into.
Each type of periodical may be appropriate, depending on the type or project you're doing. Be sure to check with your instructor to see what kinds of sources are expected.
Refereed/Peer-Reviewed Journals
Often instructors will require you to use refereed or peer-reviewed sources in your papers. In many cases, refereed sources are also scholarly sources.
Have you ever had a colleague or friend read your paper before you turned it in? You probably wanted to make sure the paper made sense, that you presented your facts correctly, and that the paper was of acceptable quality. Refereed and peer-reviewed journals work on the same principle!
"A refereed source is one in which information is published only after it's been reviewed by several other experts in that subject area. Many scholarly journals follow this procedure... Rigorous review of published research...assures you...of acceptable and scholarly information."
-- Carla List, Introduction to Library Research, 2nd ed., College Custom Series (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993) 83.
A list of refereed periodicals can be found in volume 5 of Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (Fontbonne Reference Z6941 .U5 2006 v.5).
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Some databases allow you to limit your search results to only those published in refereed or peer-reviewed journals. This is also a good way to insure that your results are coming from scholarly sources.
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Popular
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Trade/Professional
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Scholarly
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| examples: |
- Time
- U.S. News
- Sports Illustrated
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- Biblical Archeology Review
- Women's Wear Daily
- American Libraries
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- Catholic Biblical Quarterly
- Journal of Asian Studies
- Journal of the American Dietitetics Association
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| audience: |
- non-expert
- general public
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- general public
- professionals in the field
- specialists
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- experts in the field
- scholars in the field
- students
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| appearance: |
- flashy, colorful cover
- lots of photographs
- advertising throughout
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- industry-based adverstising
- photographs
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- plain cover
- mostly test
- few / no advertising
- charts and graphs, possiblely, but rarely photographs
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| article titles: |
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- long, precise and very descriptive
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| article content: |
- general reading level
- simplified versions of event reports and opinions
- quotes, but no citations
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- addressed to educated audience familiar with the subject
- reports of scholarly findings
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- addressed to scholars
- uses techical jargon of the field
- serious tone
- reviews previous literature on the topic
- inclused citations/ bibliographies
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| authors: |
- staff writers/ often no author listed
- not subject experts
- paid per article
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- professionals in the field
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- experts, scholars and professionals in the field
- not employed by the journal in which the article appears
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| editorial policy: |
- stories assigned to writers
- reviewed by one or more editors
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- stories are a mix of assignments and independent (freelance) work
- edited my the magazine
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- articles submitted by authors are often the result of research
- often "refereed" or "peer reviewed" by other scholars in that field
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