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There Are Three Types of Publications That May Appear in The Search Results of Many Social and Behavioral Sciences Databases
There Are Three Types of Publications That May Appear in The Search Results of Many Social and Behavioral Sciences Databases
There Are Three Types of Publications That May Appear in The Search Results of Many Social and Behavioral Sciences Databases
Scholarly sources -- intended for use in support of conducting in-depth research, often containing
specialized vocabulary and extensive references to sources. The content has been reviewed by academic
peers to ensure the reliability of methods used and the validity of findings. Scholarly sources help
answer the "So What?" question in academic writing and lay the foundation for discovering connections
between variables, issues, or events.
Popular sources -- intended for a general audience of readers, they are written typically to entertain,
inform, or persuade. Popular sources help you answer who, what, when, and where questions and are
essential for finding information about current events or issues. Popular sources range from research-
oriented [but lacking complete citations to sources] to special interest, agenda-driven publications.
Trade publications -- intended to share general news, trends, and opinions among practitioners in a
certain industry or profession. Although generally written by experts, they are not considered scholarly
because they are not peer-reviewed and do not focus on advancing new knowledge discovery or
reporting research results. Trade journals, however, are an essential source of information in the field of
business and specialized industries [e.g., tourism, environmental studies, agriculture, manufacturing,
etc.].
Adapted from text originally created by Holly Burt, Behavioral Sciences Librarian, USC Libraries, April
2018. Thank you, Holly!
Below is a chart developed by the USC Libraries instruction team that can help you distinguish between
a scholarly [a.k.a., peer-reviewed or academic] journal article and a popular, general interest
publication.
Content Feature
Scholarly/Academic
Popular Magazines
Trade Journals
Newspapers
Author
Editorial Process
Purpose
To present research findings and expand knowledge in a discipline or specific field of study
To inform those working in the profession of events, products, techniques, and other professional issues
To inform about current events and issues internationally, domestically, and locally
Structure of Articles
Lengthy (10+ pages) articles divided into specific sections, such as, literature review, methodology,
results, discussion, and conclusion
Industry specific articles of varying length; report news and trends but no original research
Brief articles, unless a featured item; may include original research written in a journalistic, investigative
style
Frequency of Publication
Annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly
Monthly or weekly
Monthly or weekly
Weekly or daily
Titles
May contain the words "Journal of", "Review of" or "Annals"; may contain the name of a discipline or
subject area; may be lengthy
Usually short and catchy; may contain the name of a trade or industry [e.g., Grocery Store News]
Print Appearance
Plain covers that vary little from issue to issue; primarily black and white; mostly dense text with few
graphics; pages may be consecutive throughout each volume
Very glossy and colorful; high impact visuals and design; some feature columns; many full page
advertisements
Glossy with high impact graphics; regularly scheduled featured columns; pictorials of industry events;
industry-related advertisements
Newsprint; lengthy and brief articles; regularly scheduled featured columns
Language
Complex; follows academic writing style; includes discipline-specific jargon or technical terms
Illustrations
Advertisements
Very frequent
Intended Audience
General public
General public, some with specialization (e.g., Financial Times intended for readers in business)
Critical to understanding and analyzing a topic in detail and to design a coherent, well-organized original
research study
Limited; news magazines, such as, Time are useful for following current events