What's the Difference?

8/2001

WHAT IS A PERIODICAL?

The term periodical is a generic term that can include academic journals, popular magazines, professional journals, trade publications and newspapers. They offer news, opinion, commentary, scholarly analysis, literary criticism, and reports of research. They range from brief newsletters published by trade organizations to in-depth journals published by scientific societies and university presses. Most professors at the University level require that all or most of the periodical articles you use in writing research papers come from scholarly journals. This guide lists some comparative criteria that will help you determine if the publications you are using meets your assignment's requirements.

WHY USE PERIODICALS?

• Periodicals are often the best source of information on new or current topics.
• The subject may be too narrow for publication in a book.
• Older periodicals contain historical information.
• In many disciplines periodicals are the major means of communication.

DISTINGUISHING SCHOLARLY JOURNALS FROM OTHER PERIODICALS

 

Criteria	Scholarly Journal	General Interest	Popular Magazines	Trade Publications	Sensational Publications
Audience	Researchers Experts in the subject area.	Educated audience.	General public.	Members of trade/profession.	Impressionable audience.
Authors	Usually an expert or specialist in the field, name and credentials always provided	Editorial staff, scholars or free-lance writer. Credentials not provided.	Staff writer or a free-lance writer. Credentials often not provided.	Practitioners or educators within the industry or profession.	Staff writer or free-lance writers.
Format	Serious, sober format. Articles often have these sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography. Articles are frequently very long. Contains selective advertising.	Attractive in appearance, heavily illustrated generally with photographs. Some advertising	Slick and glossy with an attractive format. Articles are short, providing a broad overview of the topic. Contains extensive advertising.	Heavily illustrated with tables, charts and photos. Advertisements are aimed at people in the industry or organization.	Contains melodramatic photos. Advertising as dramatic and as startling as the stories.
Language	Uses terminology, jargon and the language of the discipline covered; reader is assumed to have knowledge of the topic.	Uses language appropriate for an educated readership; does not emphasize a specialty but does assume a certain level of education.	Uses simple language in order to meet a minimum educational level; articles are kept short, with little depth.	Language of practitioners in the industry or profession; focuses on practical topics of interest to practitioners.	Language is simple and easy-to read and understandable. An inflammatory, sensational style is often used.
Purpose	To inform, to report, or to share original research, experimentation or scholarship with the rest of the scholarly community.	To provide general information to a wide, interested audience.	To entertain, persuade or inform the general public.	To provide news and information to people in a particular industry or profession.	To arouse curiosity and interest by stretching and twisting the truth. Outrageous, startling headlines are used to create interest.
Publishers	A professional organization, a university, or a scholarly press.	Commercial enterprises for profit; widely distributed.	Commercial publisher. Published for profit and widely distributed.	Most often published through a professional association.	Published for a profit.
References	References are always cited and should be expected. Frequently have extensive bibliographies.	Occasionally cites sources.	Text may contain vague referrals to "a study published at" or "researchers have found that" with no other details about that information.	Not extensively documented, provide few footnotes, and rarely include bibliographies.	Rarely cites information sources.
Peer review	Experts (peers) in the field review each article before publication. Reviewers are anonymous.	Editorial board.	None. Article acceptance is based largely on the topic's consumer appeal.	Editorial board.	None.
Examples	Harvard Business Review JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association Educational Research Western Journal of Nursing Research	American Journal of Nursing Atlantic Monthly Scientific American The Economist National Geographic	Ebony Sports Illustrated People Weekly Newsweek Time	Advertising Age Computerworld Industry Week Macworld National Underwriter	Globe National Enquirer Star