| Scholarly Journals | Popular Magazines | |
| Audience |
Written for professionals within the field of study. |
Written for the "average" person who doesn't have in-depth knowledge of a topic. |
| Author |
Authors are usually experts, often university researchers. Author’s credentials are usually included.
|
Author is usually a staff writer or journalist. The author’s name is often not provided.
|
| Content | Research, analysis, scholarship. Often includes abstract, research, methods, conclusion, and a bibliography. Sources are always cited in the form of footnotes or bibliographies. | Entertainment, opinion, current topics, quick facts. Rarely, if ever, cite sources. |
| Credibility | Research articles must be reviewed by a panel of experts within the field before they are published. | Articles are generally evaluated by staff editors rather than experts within the field. |
| Length | Longer articles providing in depth analysis of topics. | Articles are usually short (1-4 pages) and provide a broad overview of the topic. |
| Look | Serious looking. May contain charts and graphs yet will rarely contain advertisements. | Glossy, color pictures, advertisements. |
| Purpose | Purpose is to report on original research to make the information available to the scholarly/scientific community. | Purpose is to inform the general reader, entertain, promote a viewpoint, and/or sell products. |
| Examples |
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Can you spot which of these three periodicals is NOT a journal?
Stumped? Look at the examples of magazines and journals in the chart above.
JAMA New Yorker Shakespeare Quarterly