Getting StartedPopular vs Scholarly vs Trade Sources
Popular |
Scholarly * |
Trade |
|
| Writer |
Staff writers and journalists
|
Scholars/researchers | Professionals in the field |
| Audience |
General public
|
Scholars, including college students | People employed in the field |
| Reviewed by |
Editor
|
Editorial board made up of other scholars and researchers | Editor with credentials or experience in the field |
| Article style/purpose |
Shorter articles written to entertain, inform or elicit an emotional response
|
Longer articles written in a formal, scholarly style to share facts and research with the academic community | Shorter articles written to focus on topics of interest and keep readers up-to-date in the field |
| Documentation / Citation |
None
|
Footnotes/endnotes; bibliographies | Varies |
| Frequency |
Usually published frequently (weekly or monthly)
|
Usually published less frequently (quarterly, semi-annually) | Varies Monthly or Bimonthly |
| Advertisements | Numerous ads for a variety of products |
If there are any ads, they are usually for scholarly products such as books | Some advertising for vendors marketing to people in that field |
| Illustrations | Usually numerous | Fewer, and often include charts and graphs to support research findings | Usually numerous |
| Appearance |
Usually glossy and larger in size
|
Usually smaller in size, thicker and with a plain cover | Usually glossy, but less flashy than popular sources |
| Examples |
Time, Psychology Today, Rolling Stone, New Yorker (magazines you may subscribe to or buy at a newsstand)
|
Journal of Southern History, Annual Review of Psychology, American Literature, New England Journal of Medicine | National Paralegal Reporter, CMA Today, Personal Fitness Professional, Selling Power |
*Scholarly sources may also be referred to as academic, peer-reviewed or refereed.
"Popular Magazines vs. Scholarly Journals". (2005 July 15). University of Texas Libraries. Retrieved 7 Oct. 2005 from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/students/find/popularvscholarly.html
Tips on knowing the difference:
- Academic journals often have the word “Journal” in the title and have few illustrations
- Popular magazines often have the word “magazine” in the title and have many illustrations, pictures, and ads
- Trade magazines are written for people working in a specific field
Example:
You are writing a paper about eating disorders among college-aged women. Both popular and scholarly sources may be useful for this paper.
Popular sources: Use women's magazines to find personal narratives by college-aged women with eating disorders.
Scholarly sources: Use scholarly journals to find an article by a psychologist reporting findings from a research study of the causes of eating disorders among college-aged women.