How to Tell Scholarly Journals from Popular Magazines and Trade Journals

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Scholarly journals usually:

are published bimonthly (6 times/year), quarterly (4 times/year), or semiannually (2 times/year)

contain long articles with descriptive titles written by specialists for others in the field

provide bibliographies, footnotes, or lists of references with articles

have plain, straight-forward covers and few photographs (if any)

contain small advertisements for academic products and services

Examples: Contemporary Literature, Explorations in Ethnic Studies, Feminist Studies, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, Population and Development Review, and Radical History Review.

Databases: Most databases related to disciplines, such as America: History and Life (U.S. and Candian history), MLA Bibliography (literature, linguistics), Sociological Abstracts, and Women's Resources International (women's/gender studies) focus on scholarly journals, but might include a few popular magazines or other materials.

Best Use: papers and assignments as specified by instructors.

Popular magazines usually:

are published weekly or monthly

contain short or medium length articles, often with catchy titles, written by staff writers for the general public

do not provide bibliographies, footnotes, or lists of references

have glossy covers and contain color photographs throughout each issue

contain numerous advertisements for common products

Examples: Jet, Ms., Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Sports Ilustrated, and U. S. News and World Report.

Databases: Periodicals Abstracts indexes many popular magazines as well as scholarly journals. You might be able to tell the difference by closely examining citations, however, you might need to look at actual issues of the titles in question. The Education, Human Ecology, Psychology, Social Work Library (EHS) houses most (but not all) popular titles at Ohio State.

Best Use: background information, factual information, up-to-date information, reviews for current books, films, music, drama, and the like.

Trade journals usually:

focus on a specific industry, field, or trade

are published weekly or monthly

contain news, articles about products, goods, or other items, statistics, announcements, and the like

do not provide bibliographies, footnotes, or lists of references

have glossy covers and contain photographs throughout each issue

contain numerous advertisements for products pertinent to the industry, field, or trade

Examples: ARTnews, Chemical Marketing Reporter, Petroleum Marketing monthly

Databases: some databases related to the industry, field, or trade include selected trade journals and some databases do not include them

Best Use: up-to-date information, factual information, announcements