Though these are not hard and fast rules, the following are general characteristics of scholarly journals and popular magazines.
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Scholarly Journals |
Popular Magazines |
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Length of Articles |
Lengthy (5-50) pages. |
Short (1-5 pages). |
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Audience |
Are intended for an academic or scholarly audience. |
General, non-academic, non-specialized audience. |
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Authority/Expertise |
Publish articles written by academics, specialists or researchers in the field. |
Journalists, rather than researchers or specialists in a given field. |
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Bibliography |
Bibliography, also called footnotes or cited references. Allows the reader to consult the same material that the author used in his/her research. |
None. The reader cannot check the author’s information by tracking down and reading the original information source. |
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Frequency |
Usually monthly, quarterly, or once or twice a year. |
Published frequently (weekly, biweekly, or monthly). |
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Inclusions |
· Often publish reviews of the literature. · Charts or tables. · Little or no advertising. |
· Many photographs or other illustrations. · Extensive commercial advertising. |
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Subjects |
Generally confined to a single, very specific aspect of a subject area (e.g., music theory, European political science, film studies, language development.) |
· Variety of topic/subject areas (Time, Newsweek). · Or single subject area with the intention of informing or entertaining a general audience (Sports Illustrated). |
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Vocabulary |
Use technical or specialized vocabulary unique to a specific subject area. |
Use conventional/conversational language, as opposed to a specialized vocabulary. |
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Peer-Review Process |
Yes, articles are sent to authorities in a particular subject field that decide whether it is a credible piece of research. |
No, magazine staff personnel edit articles. |