Articles are published in periodicals, which is any type of publication published at a regular interval (weeks, months, etc.). Periodical types include magazines, newspapers, trade publications, and peer-reviewed scholarly journals. These types of sources are different from each other:
- Magazines and newspapers (also called popular sources) are written by journalists and intended for the general public - no specialized knowledge is necessary to understand them. They provide current information on events and issues.
- Trade publications are written by and for professionals in a particular occupation. They provide news and general updates related to that occupation.
- Peer-reviewed journal articles are written by experts for other experts. They are sharing new discoveries and analyses in their disciplines, and are extremely detailed and focused.