It can sometimes be difficult to determine if you are reading an article
from a peer-reviewed journal. The following are general criteria
used to distinguish between popular magazines, trade journals and scholarly
journals.
| Criteria |
Scholarly Journals |
Trade Journals |
Popular Magazines |
| Appearance |
Print:
- plain cover
- plain paper
- black / white graphics and illustrations
- pages are usually consecutive throughout the volume
|
Print:
- glossy paper
- pictures and illustrations in colour
- each issue starts with page 1
|
Print:
- eye-catching cover
- glossy paper
- pictures and illustrations in colour
- each issue starts with page 1
|
| Audience
|
Researchers, professionals and academics |
Members of a specific business, industry
or organization |
General Public |
| Authors |
- Experts in the field such as professors
- Authors named and institutional affiliations given
|
- Articles written by staff members, contributing authors or
freelance writers
- Authors usually named
|
- Articles written by staff members, journalists, and freelance
writers
- Authors may be anonymous
|
| References or Biblio-graphies |
Bibliographies are always present |
May include short bibliographies |
Rarely include bibliographies |
| Editors |
Editorial board of outside scholars (known
as peer review) |
Editors work for publisher |
Editors work for publisher |
| Publishers |
Often a scholarly or professional organization
or a university press |
Often a trade organization |
Commercial, for profit |
| Content |
- Original research, in depth studies, literary criticism, and
theory.
- Articles usually contain abstracts
|
Industry trends, new products or techniques,
and organizational news |
Personalities, news of current events,
and general interest articles |
| Writing Style and Language |
Uses discipline specific terminology that
is sophisticated and technical.
|
Uses terminology and language of trade
or industry covered |
- Easy to read, simple language used.
- Aimed at the layperson.
|
| Advertise-ments (Print Version) |
Few or none
(usually for book or conference) |
Moderate
(all or most are trade related) |
Heavy
(for consumer products) |
| Examples |
Journal
of Computer and System Sciences
English Studies
|
Industry
week
Chemical and
Engineering News |
Discover
Computer Gaming World
|
"Peer reviewed" (or "refereed") statement refers
to the policy of having experts in the field examine a submitted article
before accepting it for publication. The peer review (or referee) process
insures that the research described in a journal's articles is sound
and of high quality. Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory.
(Portions of the content of this page were adapted from Colorado State
University Libraries and Odum Library, Valdosta State University.)
Helen Yueping He and Laura Briggs, University of Waterloo Library
