What's a Scholarly Journal Article?
Scholarly journal articles are written by people who are scholars, experts, and professionals in their fields.
They are written for other scholars, experts, and professionals.
Scholarly journal articles are written to share the results of original research or in-depth studies.
Studies typically include an introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references (works cited).
The vocabulary and concepts in a scholarly journal article are very advanced.
The article is usually rigorously and substantively reviewed by the author's peers (peer review) before it is published.
There is usually a list of sources (works cited).
View the brief tutorials in the box below to learn more about scholarly journal articles.
Scholarly Journal Articles - Tutorial
- Anatomy of a Scholarly ArticleFrom North Carolina State University; click on each section of the article to learn more
Scholarly, Trade and Popular Sources
How do scholarly journal articles compare with newspapers and magazines?
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Scholarly Journals |
Trade Publications (Industry Magazines) |
Popular Newspapers and Magazines |
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Appearance (Cover) |
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 Flashy |
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Purpose |
To report research findings and build on the academic literature |
To help professionals keep up with changes in their field (new products and trends) |
To inform, provide news, entertain, and grab your interest |
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Audience |
Researchers and professionals |
Professionals |
General public |
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Author |
Researchers, usually associated with a university; can usually find author credentials on the first page or in a footnote. |
Professionals in a field (dentists, law enforcement officers, HVAC professionals) |
Journalists; search in the database for the author's name to see what other articles s/he has written.
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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) |
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Editing Process |
Peer Review |
Basic editing |
Basic editing |
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Pros |
Reliable, high-quality academic research |
Easier to read and more current than scholarly journals |
Newspapers are printed daily and magazines usually monthly |
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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. Some newspapers and magazines are better than others (New York Times vs. National Enquirer) |
Plain
Exciting industry-specific scenes