Scholarly v. Popular Chart
In academic research, it is important to evaluate your sources to determine whether they are “scholarly” enough for your particular needs. Here's a link to Ulrich's Periodicals Directory , UlrichsWeb (REF Z6941 .U5). Enter a title in the upper right search box, find it, select it, and look for the "Document Type" line in the middle of the listing. It'll tell you if it's Scholarly, Trade, or Consumer/Popular.
The following table is intended to give you an idea of the different categories of published work. Remember: your instructor is the final authority on what is “scholarly” enough for your assignment!
| Scholarly Journals |
Trade Publications |
Popular Magazines | |||||||
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Appearance |
Plain cover and paper. Primarily print, with few pictures. Tables, graphs and diagrams are often included. If there are ads, they are for books or conferences. |
Cover often depicts industrial setting. Pictures and illustrations in color. Colorful ads for trade-related products. |
Eye-catching cover and glossy paper. Picturs and illustrations in color. colorful ads for commerical products (e.g., trucks, cosmetics, etc.). |
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Audience |
Scholars, researchers practitioners. |
Members of a specific business, industry or organization. |
General public. |
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Authors
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Experts in field (i.e., researchers, faculty members). Credentials are given. |
Experts, practitioners in the field. Authors usually named. |
Magazine staff members, journalists, freelance writers. Articles may be unsigned. |
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| Content/Topic |
Research projects, methodology, literary criticism and theory. |
Industry trends, new products or techniques, and organizational news. | News, personalities and general interest stories. | ||||||
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Scholarly Journals |
Trade Publications |
Popular Magazines | |||||||
| Advertisements |
None or few. |
Many, but specific to interest of trade publication. |
Many ads for a variety of consumer goods. Up to 75% of publication can be ads. |
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Publishers |
University or academic press, or commerical publishers who specialize in scholarly works. |
Association or trade group. |
Commerical publisher who may publish a variety of titles. |
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Peer Reviewed* (or Editorial Board, or Refereed) |
Yes. |
No, but corrections and rebuttals may be printed in "letter to the editor." |
No, but corrections and rebuttals may be printed in "letters to the editor." |
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Writing Style and Language
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Uses terminology, jargon and language of the specific discipline covered. Assumes reader has some knowledge of the subject area. |
Uses terminology and language of trade or industry covered. |
Uses easy to read, simple language. Aimed at the layperson.
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Scholarly Journals |
Trade Publications |
Popular Magazines | |||||||
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References or Bibliography |
Articles contain bibliography, references, notes and/or list of works cited. |
Articles may have short bibliographies. | Articles rarely include references. | ||||||
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Indexed in:
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Journals are indexed in specialized, discipline-specific indexes or databases, like ERIC (for education) or AGRICOLA (for agriculture). |
Trade publicatons are indexed in discipline-specific databases such as Business Source Elite, ERIC, or Medline.
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Popular articles are listed in general indexes, such as Reader's Guide, Academic Search Elite, and Omnifile Full Text Mega. |
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| Examples: |
Journal of Food Science Equine Veterinary Journal Journal of Hort. Science Computer Journal |
Food and Nutrition Bulletin Equine Athlete Grower Talks ComputerWorld |
Gormet Magazine The Trail Rider Better Home & Gardens Computer Gaming World |
* A NOTE ABOUT PEER REVIEW... "Peer Review" (or "refereed journals") refers to the policy of having experts in a particular field examine an article before it is published. The purpose of this process is to insure that research described in a journal is sound and of high quality. Many electronic journal databases have a "peer review" option on the search screen (often on the "advanced search" screen) that allows you to search for only those articles that have been peer reviewed.
If you have additional questions on this topic, please visit the Research Help Desk, or call at 715-425-3343.
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