Types Of Periodicals
How can you tell if an article or journal is scholarly, professional, or something else?
Check Ulrich's
You can check the journal's home page, or search Ulrichs:- Enter the journal name
- Look for the black and white symbol
indicating the journal is "refereed."
View an example (pop-up)
More about types of periodicals
| Scholarly, Academic, Peer-reviewed, Research | |
| Contents: | Scholarly/research articles describe primary research, using scientific methods such as statistical tests. |
| Sources: | Scholarly/research articles include summaries of existing research, and are fully documented (footnotes, reference lists, etc...) |
| Language: | Scholarly/research articles use academic or technical terms, written for other scholars/researchers |
| Authors: | Professionals in the field, professors, scientists |
| Published by: | Universities, scholarly presses, research organizations |
| Graphics: | Charts and graphs, formulas. Glossy ads are rare. |
| Where to search (Ask a Librarian for more info): | Compendex, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, PAIS, PsycInfo, NU Journals at Ovid |
| Examples: | Cell Journal of Marketing Research Social Psychology Quarterly |
| Professional, Trade and Industry Journals | |
| Contents: | Current industry, product and company info, management trends, new products, statistics, forecasts, interviews |
| Sources: | Occasional brief bibliographies or sources cited in the text |
| Language: | Written for practitioners, using extensive jargon of the profession |
| Authors: | Practitioners in the field, or specialized journalists, PR writers |
| Published by: | Commercial publishers, trade and professional associations |
| Graphics: | Photographs, charts, tables, glossy ads |
| Where to search (Ask a Librarian for more info): | Business Source Premier, ACM Digital Library, EIU Country Intelligence, IEEEXplore, Lexis-Nexis Academic |
| Examples: | Beverage World |
| Commentary and Opinion Magazines | |
| Contents: | Current views on social and political issues, opinionated, may be the voice of an activist organization, speeches, interviews |
| Sources: | Occasional brief bibliographies or sources cited in the text |
| Language: | Written for a general educated audience |
| Authors: | Extremely variable, some journalists, academics, pundits of all sorts |
| Published by: | Commercial publishers, nonprofits |
| Graphics: | Some advertising and graphics |
| Where to search (Ask a Librarian for more info): | General ReferenceFile, PAIS, Lexis-Nexis |
| Examples: | The Nation National Review The New Republic |
| Popular Magazines and Newspapers | |
| Contents: | Current events, industry and leading company information, short articles, not much depth, interviews |
| Sources: | Rarely cite sources in full |
| Language: | Written for a general audience |
| Authors: | Specialized journalists |
| Published by: | Commercial publishers |
| Graphics: | Glossy ads, full color charts, pictures, tables |
| Where to search (Ask a Librarian for more info): | General BusinessFile, Lexis-Nexis, Health Reference Center |
| Examples: | Newsweek The Economist Boston Globe Fortune |
Searching Ulrichsweb for your journal will also tell you if it is peer-reviewed
- Ulrichs Web (Current NU plus alumni)
Lists all journals, print and electronic, with publisher information, subscription prices, subject descriptions, web locations, and much more.
