| Criteria |
Popular Magazine |
Trade Journal |
Scholarly Journal |
| Example |
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| Content |
Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal narrative or opinion; general information, purpose is to entertain or inform. |
Current news, trends and products in a specific industry; practical information for professionals working in the field or industry. |
In-depth, primary account of original findings written by the researcher(s) or reviews of original research; very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication. |
| Author |
Author is frequently a journalist paid to write articles, may or may not have subject expertise. |
Author is usually a professional in the field, sometimes a journalist with subject expertise. |
Author's credentials are provided; usually a scholar or specialist with subject expertise. |
| Audience |
General public; the interested non-specialist. |
Professionals in the field; the interested non-specialist. |
Scholars, researchers, and graduate students. |
| Language |
Vocabulary in general usage; easily understandable to most readers. |
Specialized terminology or jargon of the field, but not as technical as a scholarly journal. |
Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires expertise in subject area. |
| Layout & Organization |
Informal; may include non-standard formatting. May not present supporting evidence or a conclusion. |
Informal; articles organized like a journal or a newsletter. Evidence drawn from personal experience or common knowledge. |
Structured; includes the article abstract, goals and objectives, methodology, results (evidence), discussion, conclusion, and bibliography. |
| Accountability |
Articles are evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field; edited for format and style. |
Articles are evaluated by editorial staff who may be experts in the field, not peer-reviewed*; edited for format and style. |
Articles are evaluated by peer-reviewers* or referees who are experts in the field; edited for content, format, and style. |
| References |
Rare. Little, if any, information about source materials is given. |
Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required. |
Required. Quotes and facts are verifiable. |
| Paging |
Each issue begins with page 1. |
Each issue generally begins with page 1. |
Page numbers are generally consecutive throughout the volume. |