Students are often told to use articles from "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed" journals in their research. However, it is not always easy to tell which periodicals (journals and magazines) are considered scholarly. The chart below may help in distinguishing among the many periodicals you will find. It is important to remember that even in a scholarly journal, not all material will be scholarly; for instance there may be book reviews or short up-dates on news in the discipline. You should always look at the article itself as well as the journal. When in doubt, talk with your instructor or a reference librarian.
TYPES OF PERIODICALS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
| Characteristic | Scholarly Journals | Popular Magazines | Trade Magazines |
| Audience | Scholars; Professionals & students in the field | General Public | Practitioners & professionals in the field |
| Authors |
Researchers; experts in the field; names and affiliations are identified |
Professional journalists and writers | Practitioners & reporters specializing in a field or industry |
| Publisher | Often professional societies & universities, but may be commercial publishers | General, commercial publishers | Usually publishers who specialize in a particular field or industry |
| Publishing Decisions | Usually reviewed by one or more experts in the field (peer-reviewed or refereed) | Editors | Editors |
| Content | Original research; usually longer articles | Little original research; usually shorter articles; some popular magazines are more authoritative than others. | Reports on news, trends, and forecasts for a field or industry. |
| Writing Style | Uses language of the specific field or discipline | Written for the non-specialist in popular language | Written for the professionals in the field; often business related |
| Documentation | Provides notes and/or bibliography of works consulted in the research | Usually has no notes or bibliography | Usually has no notes or bibliography |
| Appearance | Illustrations generally limited to charts and graphs | Glossy, pictures and photographs | Often graphical presentations of statistical data; pictures relate to text |
| Advertisements | Few advertisements; usually relating to the field (e.g., books or journals) | Many advertisements; often not related to the articles | Many advertisements for services and goods in the industry. |
| Frequency | Usually monthly or quarterly | Usually weekly or monthly | Usually weekly or monthly |
| Availability | Most often by subscription | By subscription, but also on newsstands and in bookstores | Usually by subscription |
| Examples | American Historical Review, Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Shellfish Research | Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, National Review, The Economist, Psychology Today | PC Week, Jane's Defence Industry, Offshore, Chemical Engineering |