What is a Periodical?
A Guide to Magazines, Scholarly Journals, and
Trade Publications
Do you know the difference between popular magazine articles and scholarly journal articles? Do you know what a trade publication is? All of the above are different types of periodicals. A periodical is a magazine, newspaper, or other publication that is published at regular intervals. The following guide will help you learn some important differences between these three types of periodicals.
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Popular Magazines |
Scholarly Journals |
Trade Publications | |
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Author |
Employees of the magazine, who are paid to write articles. Authors are sometimes anonymous. |
Experts in their field. Full author names are always given. |
Practitioners in the field or writers who are employed by the magazine. |
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Objectivity |
Opinions of the author, or the magazine they work for. | Unbiased opinions. Conclusions drawn from the author's research. | Opinions usually reflect the views of the author or magazine. |
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Purpose |
For entertainment purposes; to make money for the authors and publishers. | For research and other academic purposes. | To inform members of specific industries about the latest trends and important news going on in that industry. |
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Availability |
Sold at newsstands and bookstores, and through subscriptions. | Often found in libraries. May be available through professional memberships. Available online to many students attending universities.* | Available in some bookstores and on websites. May be available through professional memberships. |
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Sources |
Authors are not required to cite their sources of information. | Authors are required to cite all their sources in a bibliography, or works cited list. | Authors are not required to cite their sources of information. |
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Editors |
Edited by staff editor who may have little or no expertise in the subject. | Published after review and approval by professionals or experts in the field. This is referred to as peer review. | Edited by staff editor who may or may not have expertise in the subject. |
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Examples |
Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone | The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Sports Management, Journal of Criminal Justice | Police Chief, Professional Builder, National Culinary Review, RN |
*As an ECC student, you have access to many types of periodical articles. Log in to this website with your ECC student Username and Password to browse through our Periodical Indexes and Databases to locate all types of periodical articles (popular magazine, scholarly journal, & trade publication).
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This page was developed by Jim Romeo.
This page was last updated 11/21/07 03:24:06 PM