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Evaluating Information

Comparing Popular Magazines And Scholary Journals

For research assignments, you will likely be required to find a scholarly article which is an article contained in a scholarly journal. Scholarly journals are also called academic, "peer-reviewed" or refereed journals. Several features of popular magazines and scholarly journals make it relatively easy to distinguish one from the other, once you know what to look for. The features listed below will help you answer the question "How Do I Know?

periodicals

Such as:

Time or Newsweek

Journal of Psychology

Advertising

Highly visible, glossy, eyecatching.

If any, ads are professional and related to the field.

Articles

Often NOT signed by author.

ALWAYS signed by the author(s).

Audience

General public.

Targeted audience of scholars or professionals.

Authors

Authors are generalists, staff writers, or freelance writers.

Authors are experts in their fields--scholars and professionals, often university professors.

Citations

Sources of information NOT fully cited, a bibliography is NOT included, NO footnotes or endnotes.

Sources are always fully cited, footnotes or endnotes are always given.

Format

Informal, conversational style to appeal to general readers.

The standard format of the field is followed: APA, MLA, Chicago (Turabian), etc.

Publisher

Published commercially.

Often published by a university or professional association.

Purpose

To inform or entertain.

To keep scholars and professionals abreast of new research findings and techniques.

Review Policy

Articles selected by an editor.

"Peer reviewed:" articles selected by a panel of experts.

Style

Common vernacular is used.

Specialized or technical language of the field is used.

Frequency

Usually weekly or monthly.

Usually monthly or quarterly.


Adapted from http://www.creighton.edu/reinert/researchtoolbox/tutorialsandguides/comparingmagazinesandjournals/

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