One of the main characteristics of scholarly journals is the process of peer review. Research articles under consideration for publication in a scholarly journal are sent to experts in the subject field (peers) for evaluation and comment (review).
Scholarly Journals |
Professional Trade Journals |
Newsstand Magazines |
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Audience |
Researchers and experts |
Members of the Trade/Profession |
General Public |
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Authors |
Researchers and experts |
Staff writers and members of the profession |
Staff writers, articles often written by groups, sometimes corporations |
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Bibliography |
Always. Plus footnotes or endnotes; suggested resources for more information |
Sometimes a brief bibliography, variable by profession, no footnotes or endnotes |
Almost never |
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Publisher |
Publishers of scholary journals, a university press, or a professional association |
Typically associations or commercial groups |
Typically commercial |
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Language |
Formal or semiformal scholarly language; may use jargon or technical terms that assume expertise in the field |
Informal; may use technical or specialized jargon |
Informal; written at or below the reading level of average high school students |
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Content |
Research reports and commentary |
Trends, new technologies, workplace standards in the field |
General interest and news |
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Purpose |
To disseminate findings from original research or experiments |
To advance profession by covering issues and topics in the field |
To inform and entertain |
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Reliability |
Good - the articles undergo blind reviews by other scholars |
Average - articles undergo reviews, but articles are sometimes biased to support industry/vendors |
Average to Fair - deadlines mean content review is limited, stories sometimes come from "third parties" where review is very difficult |