| 
...Tell
the Difference Between a Scholarly and a Popular Periodical?
Characteristics | Appearance
Characteristics
A scholarly periodical
(sometimes referred to as peer-reviewed journal or a refereed journal)
publishes the results of original and significant research in a
particular discipline. A popular periodical (a magazine, newsmagazine,
or newspaper) publishes shorter pieces, news items, descriptions
or summaries of research findings (but not the original research
papers themselves), and/or information of interest to non-specialists
or the general public. The chart below compares these two types
of periodicals characteristic by characteristic. The next
page illustrates the differences in appearance between scholarly
and popular periodicals. |
| Characteristic |
Scholarly  |
Popular
 |
| Purpose |
Published
in order to transmit the findings of original research in a field,
to expand that field’s base of published knowledge and to act
as a stepping stone for further research. |
Published
to inform, entertain, or persuade. |
| Audience |
Undergraduate
and graduate students, researchers, practitioners, faculty, and others
with a specialized knowledge of the field. |
General
public; those without specialized knowledge. |
| Author |
Articles
written by researchers, professionals or experts in the field. |
Articles
often written by reporters or other paid staff writers or by freelance
writers. |
| Review
Process |
Scholarly
journals are known as "peer-reviewed" or "refereed"
because their articles are screened and approved by researchers and
experts in the field (the author's "peers") before they
are accepted for publication. Reviewers usually do not have any affiliation
with the journal that they are reviewing an article for. Only articles
of superior quality and value to the field will pass the review process. |
Articles
are reviewed and approved for publication by the periodical's editor. |
| Publication
Frequency |
Scholarly
journals are usually published monthly, bimonthly or quarterly (4
times a year). Scholarly journals emphasize quality over quantity
in the articles that they publish. |
Popular
periodicals generate many articles and are usually published daily,
weekly or monthly. |
Periodical:
A publication that
is issued on a regular basis, such as a magazine or journal.
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| Now you know the characteristics
that differentiate scholarly journals from popular magazines. For
more tips on how to tell the difference between these types of periodicals,
see Part 2: Appearance. |
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