HED 6510 The American College Student: Journals vs. Magazines

Some publications may fall into a third category between popular magazines and scholarly journals. These are called Trade Publications and generally have the characteristics of magazines in appearance but are focused on a specific industry or trade. These:

• Are directed toward members of a specific business, industry, or organization
• Discuss industry news, trends, new products, or techniques
• Are published by trade associations
• Have few or no bibliographic references

Research or scholarly articles generally have several characteristics that define them. They:

• Are written by and for academic faculty, researchers, and/or experts
• Use technical or field-specific vocabulary
• Give full bibliographic references (AKA a "Works Cited List")
• Are published mostly in academic journals, with titles like the American Journal of Sociology
• Are generally sober and serious in tone
• May have charts, graphs, and tables but are not glossy and colorful like magazines
• Often report results of research

The most prestigious research articles are "peer-reviewed," meaning they are edited by an expert panel.

Below is a listing of general characteristics which can be used to identify differences between popular magazines and scholarly journals. Some magazines and journals, however, may not meet all the criteria in any one category. Some publications may mix 'magazine' content with more scholarly 'journal articles,' so judge by the individual article as well as the entire publication. Besides, with the availability of full-text articles from databases, it may be difficult to judge characteristics of the publication as a whole.

*sometimes also referred to as 'academic,' 'refereed,' or 'peer-reviewed' articles