Evaluating Periodicals

EVALUATING PERIODICALS: SCHOLARLY VS. POPULAR
CRITERIA	SCHOLARLY JOURNAL	POPULAR MAGAZINE	TRADE MAGAZINE
Example
Content (Accuracy)	Findings written by the researcher(s); very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication; In-depth accounts of original findings.	General information intended to entertain or inform; Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal opinion/bias.	Practical information for professionals working in the field or industry; Current news, trends, and products in a specific field or industry.
Author (Authority)	Author's credentials are provided. Author is usually a scholar or specialist in the field.	Often, author is a journalist paid to write articles and may or may not be in an expert in the subject.	Author usually a professional in the field, sometimes a journalist with subject expertise.
Audience (Coverage)	Students, scholars, and researchers.	General Public.	Professionals in the field.
Language (Coverage)	Specialized terminology of the field; requires expertise in subject area.	General-usage vocabulary; easily understandable to the general public.	Not as technical as a scholarly journal but terminology is specialized.
Graphics (Coverage)	Very few advertisements and photos. Many charts, graphs, tables.	Lots of glossy advertisements and photos; some graphs and charts.	Photos; some graphics; advertisements aimed at professionals in the field.
Layout & Organization (Currency)	Structured; includes the article abstract, goals, objectives, methodology, results, discussion, and bibliography.	Informal; may include non-standard formatting. May not present supporting evidence or conclusion.	Informal; articles organized like a newsletter. Evidence drawn from personal experience.
Accountability (Objectivity)	Articles evaluated by peer-reviewers who are experts in the field; content, format, and style are edited.	Content evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field.	Evaluated by editorial staff, not peer-reviewed.
References (Objectivity)	Required. Facts and quotes are verifiable.	Rare. Little, if any, information about source materials is given.	Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required.
Paging	Page numbers are consecutive throughout volume.	Each issue begins on page 1.	Each issue begins on page 1.
Other Examples	Annals of Mathematics, JAMA, Almost anything with Journal in the title.	Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Time, Newsweek.	PC World, Psychology Today, Architectural Record.

Based on Scholarly vs. Popular Materials by Amy VanScoy, NCSU Library.