Journals and Magazines
Difference Between Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines
Scholarly and Professional Journals
Definition: Scholarly is concerned with academic study, especially research.
Purpose: To report on original research or experimentation; to make such information available to the profession
Language: Written by and for scholars in the field; using the terminology and jargon of the discipline
Sources: Always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies
Examples: New England Journal of Medicine, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Popular Culture
Popular Magazines
Definition: Popular means appeal to the taste and intelligence of the people at large.
Purpose: To provide general information to a broad audience
Language: For any audience
Sources: Sometimes cite sources, though more often do not
Examples: Fortune, Scientific American, Psychology Today, Time Magazine
Newspapers
Newspapers are excellent sources for topics that deal with current issues and newspapers from previous time periods are excellent sources for historical topics.
Newspapers are divided into two types:
Primary material --provides first-hand accounts of current events in news reports and presents diverse points-of-view on controversial issues in editorial and opinion pieces. Aside from news reports, other examples of primary sources include diaries, letters, interviews, original artwork, statistical data that has not been analyzed and the first report of a research study in a scientific journal.
Secondary material - Any information that is a retelling, interpretation, analysis of a primary source--that is, it's something new based on reading or hearing a primary source -- is termed secondary material. In newspapers, articles that analyze current issues or trends or reviews of arts and entertainment are secondary material.
