Library:Evaluating Types of Materials
Types of Materials
Be sure to follow your instructor's guidelines on the types of materials that are required for an assignment.
Scholarly and Popular Journals
If you are required to use articles from scholarly publications and/or popular magazines use the table below to compare the differences between the two. Not all the criteria will be met for every journal, and there will be exceptions, but being aware of the differences will help you to select sources appropriate to your research needs.
| Scholarly Journals | Popular Magazines | |
|---|---|---|
| Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Water, Science and Technology Foreign Affairs Science Nature |
Time Newsweek Psychology Today | |
| Researchers Professors Scholars Professionals who are usually experts in narrow fields |
Journalists Laypeople Anonymous | |
| Includes references, bibliographies or footnotes | Rarely includes references, bibliographies or footnotes | |
| Submitted articles are subjected to a rigorous peer-review process by researchers, professionals and/or students of the field | Submitted articles may be reviewed by journalists and lay people | |
| Specialized language of the discipline is used Often includes tabulated data, graphs and diagrams |
Language is non-technical | |
| Always includes an abstract Lengthy articles of original research In-depth analysis of topic Substantial book reviews |
Shorter articles of general interest Coverage of current events/news Some brief book reviews | |
| Less flashy, more "serious" in appearance Advertisements are rare (an exception is medical journals) Articles are often divided into explicitly named (and sometimes numbered) sections |
More eye-catching appearance Many pictures Many advertisements |