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Identifying Scholarly Journals vs. Other Periodicals
What is a Scholarly Journal?
No single definition for a scholarly journal can be used. To determine the nature of an article, a variety of criteria must be applied to reveal the majority trait. If you are unsure consult the Magazines for Libraries, New York: Bowker, CALL # REF 016.05 M27B, to find more information about the publisher and nature of the periodical or ask a librarian.
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MAGAZINE ARTICLE |
SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLE |
| AUTHOR* |
Journalist; layperson; sometimes author unknown may be scholar but not in field covered |
Expert, scholar, professor, etc; in the author's field |
| NOTES* |
Few or no references or notes |
Includes notes, footnotes and/or bibliography |
| STYLE |
Journalistic, written for average reader |
Written for experts, shows research |
| EDITING |
Reviewed by one or more persons employed by magazine |
Editorial board of outside scholars review articles before publishing. |
| AUDIENCE |
General public |
Scholars or researchers in the field |
| ADS |
Many, often in color |
Few or none; if any, usually look for books and other "scholarly" items |
| LOOK |
Glossy, many pictures often in color |
More
professional, collegiate look, mostly print |
| FREQUENCY |
Usually weekly or monthly |
Usually quarterly or monthly |
| CONTENTS |
Current events; general interest |
More specialized; research topics |
| INDEXES |
Found in general periodical indexes (e.g. Readers Guide) |
Found in specialized subject indexes and databases |
| PUBLISHER |
General magazine publisher |
Usually published by some Association or university |
| EXAMPLES |
Psychology Today |
Journal of Clinical Child Psychology |
| Teaching PreK-8 |
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education |
| Time |
Research in Science and Technological Education |
When searching online databases for articles, mark peer-reviewed, juried, or refereed sources to
help identify the more scholarly articles. Many databases appear to use peer-reviewed, juried and scholarly journals synonymously. These terms are indeed similar, but they are not the same thing. A peer-reviewed or juried journal, is one that has each article published reviewed by an independent, qualified individual in the same field as the author.
Sources:
Developed by Chuck Dintrone, Coordinator of Bibliographic Instruction, San Diego State University (3/91)
Minesota State Library
Cornell Univeristy Library
UTSA Library
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