Scholarly Journals

Popular Magazines

Trade Journals

Examples

Sociological Review

Journal of molecular biology

International Studies Quarterly

Time

Newsweek

Sports Illustrated

RN

Library Journal

Stores

Value & Uses

Reports of original research, theoretical, experimental or applied.

In-depth analysis of topics

Lengthy articles

Current events and news

Brief, factual information

Short articles

Interviews

Current trends, news & events in a particular field. Product, company and biographical information.

Statistics including forecasts.

Language

College-level writing

Specialized language of the discipline

Non-technical, often simple language

Written for practitioners so uses jargon of the field

Authors

Researchers, academics, scholars

Journalists

Practitioners or journalists with subject expertise

Sources

Footnotes and bibliographies

Documentation often extensive

Original sources can be obscure

Sources often cited, but full documentation is not always provided

Publishers

Professional organizations, universities, research institutes, and scholarly presses

Commercial publishers

Commercial/trade publishers

Graphics

Graphs, charts, and tables

Ads are rare

Many photos and color ads

Illustrated for marketing appeal

Charts, tables, illustrations

Ads related to the profession/industry