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SCHOLARLY JOURNALS | TRADE PUBLICATIONS | NEWS/GENERAL INTEREST | POPULAR | SENSATIONAL/TABLOID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORMAT | Generally have a simple, serious look | Are polished in appearance | Are attractive in appearance | Are generally glossy with an attractive format | Are often produced in a cheap magazine or newspaper format |
| GRAPHICS | Contain illustrations, graphs, and charts to provide information | Include photographs, illustrations, and graphics to convey information and enhance the publication | Include photographs, illustrations, and graphics to enhance the publication | Contain photographs, illustrations, and drawings to make them more attractive | Contain melodramatic photographs |
| SOURCES | Always cite sources with footnotes and/or bibliographies | May cite sources with some articles | May cite sources, but rarely | Citations are almost never included | Citations are not included |
| AUTHORS | Are written by and for scholars or researchers in the specialty | Are written for people in a particular industry or profession by someone with knowledge in the field or by the publications's staff | Are written for an educated general audience by someone with knowledge in the subject, the publication's staff, or freelance writers | Are written by the publication's staff or freelance writers for a broad-based audience | Contain articles written by freelance writers or by the publication's staff for an impressionable readership |
| LANGUAGE | Use terminology, jargon and the language of the discipline covered; the reader is assumed to have a similar scholarly background | Use terminology and jargon appropriate for for someone with knowledge of a profession or industry; the reader is assumed to have similar knowledge | Use language appropriate for an educated readership; they do not emphasize a specialty but do assume a certain level of intelligence | Use simple language in order to meet a minimum education level; articles are usually short, with little depth | Contain language that is simple and easy to understand; articles often are inflammatory or sensational in tone |
| PURPOSE | To inform, report, or make available original research to the rest of the scholarly world | To provide news and other information of interest to people in a particular field | Provide general information to a wide audience interested in whatever topic the publication covers | Designed to entertain or persuade (often by highlighting products or services for sale to consumers) | Arouse curiosity and interest through outrageous headlines and by stretching and twisting the truth |
| PUBLISHERS | Are generally published by a professional society or association or by a for-profit publisher focusing on academic information | Are generally published by a professional association or by a for-profit publisher focusing on trade magazines; the publication may be given for "free" to dues-paying members of an association | Are generally published by commercial enterprises for profit | Are published for profit | Are published for profit |
| ADVERTISING | Contain selective advertising | Contain advertising targeted to professionals in the field | Contain advertising | Contain extensive advertising | Contain advertising as startling and melodramatic as the articles |
| EXAMPLES |
ANNALS OF SCIENCE CHAUCER REVIEW EDUCATIONAL THEORY SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW JAMA: THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION |
ENR: ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD WORLD PIPELINES HOSPITALITY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY U.S. BANKER |
FORBES FORTUNE PSYCHOLOGY TODAY SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN TIME |
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS GLAMOUR PEOPLE WEEKLY READER'S DIGEST SPORTS ILLUSTRATED |
NATIONAL ENQUIRER DAILY MAIL STAR SUN |
Adapted from What's the Difference? Scholarly Journals vs. Magazines at https://guides.ucf.edu/scholarlyjournalsvsmagazines