Frequently Asked Questions

How can I distinguish between a magazine and a specialized or scholarly journal?

	Magazine	Scholarly Journal
Author	Journalist, layperson, or sometimes author unknown	Expert (scholar, professor, etc.) in field covered
Notes	Few or no references or footnotes	Includes notes and/or bibliography
Style	Written for average reader	Written for experts, shows research
Editing	Reviewed by one or more persons employed by magazine	Editorial board of outside scholars who review article before publishing
Audience	General public	Scholars or researchers in the field
Advertising	Many ads, often in color	Few or none; if any ads they are usually for books & other scholarly items
Look	Glossy, many pictures often in color	More sedate look; mostly print
Contents	Current events, general interest	More specialized, research topics
Indexes	Found in general periodical indexes (e.g., Readers Guide)	Found in subject specialized indexes

For descriptions of "refereed" (i.e., peer-reviewed) magazines and journals, see Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

last revised: 4/7/08