General Research Guides
Scholarly vs. Popular Journals
The following guidelines are meant to assist students in determining whether a journal is scholarly or popular. These are guidelines only, not absolute criteria. Please note that many of these criteria have been qualified by the word "tend"; although this element is usually there, it can't be counted on always to be there. Other criteria are listed as "always" present. When in doubt regarding the quality of a resource in any format, consult a Reference Librarian or a professor.
Scholarly Journals |
Popular Magazines |
| Articles always have bibliographies and end/footnotes. | Articles may lack bibliographies or references. |
| Authors are always named, and their institutional affiliation is given. | Authors may be anonymous. |
| Articles may be peer-reviewed or refereed. | Articles are not peer-reviewed. |
| Journal title may include terms such as "journal," "review," or "bulletin." | Journal title lacks such terms. |
| Journal cover and pages tend to be plain in design, without advertisements. Non-text elements may be limited to charts, graphs, and tables showing numerical data | Journal tends to include advertisements, graphics, color photos, etc. |
| Issues tend to be successively numbered. | Each issue tends to begin with page 1 |
| Articles tend to be longer. | Articles tend to be shorter, some only 1-2 pages. |
| Issues tend to be published less often (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually). | Issues tend to be published more frequently (monthly, weekly, daily). |