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ENG 112: College Composition II: Argument Essay & Literary Analysis Essay - (Purugganan - Alexandria)

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Periodical Types

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.

What Are Peer Reviewed Journal Articles?

Many scholarly journals use a process called peer review.

  • Before an article can be published in a peer reviewed journal, the journal requires that other scholars in the author's field (the author's peers) critically evaluate the article.
     
  • Peer review is a kind of quality control process to help ensure that the article represents the best scholarship available.

More information on finding peer reviewed journal articles.