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Articles usually are found in two types of periodicals: scholarly journals and popular magazines. Scholarly journals are written by experts in a subject for other scholars and students. Popluar magazines are written for general readers. Your professor may require you to use articles from scholarly journals because these kinds of articles are usually more appropriate for use in research. The library subscribes to a variety of scholarly journals and popular magazines. Use the following guide to distinguish between the two types of sources when looking for articles.
*Note: this guide is particularly useful if you are looking at a paper copy of a journal or magazine, such as those located on the first floor of our library. If you are looking at electronic versions of articles in databases, you can still apply most of the following criteria to determine whether your article is from a scholarly journal or a popular magazine, even if you are not looking at a paper copy of the periodical.
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Scholarly Journals
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Popular Magazines
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Abstracts
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An abstract or summary paragraph usually appears above the text |
No abstracts |
Appearance
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Formal appearance; may contain graphs, tables, or charts; rarely has glossy pages or photographs |
Glossy paper, advertisements, heavily illustrated |
Audience
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Scholars and students |
General public |
Authors
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Scholars, authorities, or experts in the field |
Usually professional writers, freelance authors, or journalists |
Documentation
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Sources cited in footnotes or bibliography |
Sources sometimes cited for news articles, but rarely |
Language
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Specialized terms from the discipline |
Short articles using everyday language |
Publishers
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Often published by a professional association or academic press
(example: University of Minnesota Press) |
Published by commercial presses |
Purpose
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Report on original research, experimentation, or in-depth studies in the field |
Provide general information, inform, entertain, report events or opinions |
Review Process
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Often undergo "peer reviewed" process in which articles are reviewed by other scholars in the field before being published |
Articles usually written by hired reporters and edited by magazine editors |
Subject Focus
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Usually have a narrow subject focus |
Usually have a broad subject focus |
Titles
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Titles often include the word "Journal," "Review," "Bulletin," or "Research" |
Titles seldom include these words |
Last updated October 13, 2006
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