Not everything published in scholarly journals is appropriate to use as a resource for research. Book reviews, editorial (opinion) pieces, short news items etc. do not count as "scholarly articles". If you are unsure about using the information you've found, be sure to check with a librarian or your professor.
The comparative chart to the right has some criteria that you can use to make an educated guess about the type of journal. Also, consider the following:
POPULAR | SCHOLARLY | PROFESSIONAL | |
---|---|---|---|
Purpose | To inform and entertain the general reader | To communicate research and scholarly ideas |
To apply information; to provide professional support
|
Audience | General public | Other scholars, students |
Practitioners in the field, professionals
|
Coverage | Broad variety of public interest topics, cross disciplinary | Very narrow and specific subjects |
Information relevant to field and members of a group
|
Publisher | Commercial |
Professional associations; academic institutions; and many commercial publishers
|
Professional, occupational, or trade group |
Writers | Employees of the publication, freelancers (including journalists and scholars) | Scholars, researchers, experts, usually listed with their institutional affiliation |
Members of the profession, journalists, researchers, scholars
|
Characteristics |
|
|
|
Frequency |
Frequent, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis
|
Less frequent, on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis | Frequent, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis |
Examples | Time, US News and World Report, Modern Healthcare | Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome | Institute of Transportation Engineers Journal |
Trade and professional literature resembles scholarly literature in that it is written by people working in the field. However, the articles in trade and professional journals cover news in the field, brief reports on research, and opinions about trends and events. Some examples of trade and professional journals are: