Periodical Articles (Alexandria)

Scholarly Journals

Trade Publications (Industry Magazines)

  Popular Newspapers and Magazines

   Appearance   (Cover)

Plain

  Exciting industry-specific scenes

   Appearance   (Inside)

 Black and white with few pictures

Colorful with pictures

 Colorful with many pictures

Purpose

To report research findings and new discoveries, and build on the academic literature

To help professionals keep up with changes in their field (new products, trends, and issues)

To inform, entertain and grab your interest

Audience

Researchers and professionals

Professionals

Regular people

Author

Researchers, usually associated with a university

Professionals in a field (dentists, law enforcement officers and HVAC professionals)

Journalists

Title

Sounds “academic” and usually includes the word “journal”

- New England Journal of Medicine

- Journal of Clinical Child Psychology

Sounds “professional”.  May include the word “journal” in the title but does not look like a journal.

- Massage Today

- Community College Journal

- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies

Short title that usually sounds general or entertaining. 

- New York Times (newspaper)

- Washington Post (newspaper)

- People (magazine)

- Time (magazine)

 Advertisements

None

Industry-specific ads (kitchen equipment, massage tables and dental hygiene instruments)

Flashy ads for products that would interest most people (cars, food and clothes)

Editing Process

Peer Review

Basic editing

Basic editing

Pros

Reliable, high-quality academic research

Easier to read and more current than scholarly journals

Newspapers are printed daily and magazines usually monthly

Cons

Peer review process takes time, so articles may take months to publish

Written by professionals in the field but does not go through an extensive editing process

Could include opinions.  Range in quality (Wall Street Journal and National Enquirer)