How to distinguish a Scholarly Journal from a Popular Journal

• Scholarly journals generally have a sober, serious look. They often contain many graphs and charts but few glossy pages or exciting pictures.
• Articles in scholarly journals have either footnotes or endnotes and usually have a bibliography at the end.
• Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has done research in the field. Many scholarly journals are refereed which means that the article was given to a number of respected scholars in its particular field who then evaluate and certify the quality of the scholarship it contains.
• The language of scholarly journals is that of the discipline covered. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader.
• The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world.
• Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specific professional organization such as the American Historical Society or the American Association of Psychologists or by a university, not by a company only for profit.
• In many scholarly journals the word journal will appear in the title--but not always.
• Articles are usually more structured and may include these sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion and bibliography.
• True definitions vary from professor to professor. Check with your professor to be certain how he or she views a particular title.

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• Popular periodicals come in many formats, although often somewhat slick and attractive in appearance. There are many illustrations with glossy or color photographs, often for advertising purposes.
• These publications rarely, if ever, cite sources. The author is usually a staff writer or a journalist, and the name and credentials are often not provided. A bibliography is usually not provided, although names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text.
• Articles are not evaluated by experts in the field, but by editors on the staff.
• Articles are usually very short, written in non-technical language and providing broader overviews of topics. There is generally little depth to the content of these articles.
• The main purpose of popular periodicals is to entertain the reader, to sell products, and/or to promote a viewpoint.
• As above, true definitions vary from professor to professor. Check with your professor to be certain how he or she views a particular title.

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If you still are unsure, check in Magazines for Libraries (Ready Ref 016.05 M189 1997) or Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory (Ready Ref 016.05 U45 1999) for the listing for your magazine to see if it is refereed.

With Thanks From:  

• The Olin, Kroch and Uris Libraries at Cornell University
• Ethel K. Smith Library at Wingate University
• The University of Texas at San Antonio Library

Created by: Kathleen Christy
Last Update: July 12, 2002