LibGuides: Scholarly vs Popular: Scholarly v Popular v Trade

Government Documents Librarian

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UTSA Libraries -- Main Campus
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, Texas 78249

210-458-7572

Subjects: Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Geography, Government, Languages, Modern, Law, Mexican-American Studies, Newspapers, Spanish

Is it a Peer-Reviewed Journal?

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (ulrichsweb.com)
The online version of the well-known reference title, this database provides bibliographic information on journals, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and other periodical publications published in the U.S. and internationally. Includes information on active and ceased periodicals, annual publications, irregular publications, and monographic (book) series. Also includes contact information for over 80,000 publishers, as well as reviews of selected periodicals.

Look for a referee’s jersey icon () next to the journal’s title on the search results screen.

What is a scholarly article?

An important part of any research project is evaluating your resources and knowing the difference among articles published in Scholarly, Popular and Trade Publications. Many of your professors will require that you use scholarly, peer reviewed sources.

Scholarly journals - contain in-depth articles on original research written by experts in a particular field for scholars and researchers. Articles contain specialized vocabulary, extensive citations, graphs, charts & tables, and are usually peer-reviewed by experts in the field.

Popular magazines - contain articles and are typically written by a staff writer or journalist for a general audience. The magazine includes many photos and ads. Reference to sources are uncommon.

Trade publications - contain articles on current news and trends for a specific industry or profession and are written by authors with knowledge in the field for practitioners. Articles report general news, trends, and opinions, rather than advanced research, and are not peer-reviewed.

UTSA Tutorials for Finding Scholarly Articles

Properties of Scholarly, Popular and Trade Journals

	Scholarly / Academic Journals (including Peer Reviewed)	Popular	Trade Publications

Examples	American Anthropologist Journal of Popular Culture	Time National Geographic Popular Mechanics Psychology Today	Public Management Advertising Age InfoSecurity Professional
Content	Research results/reports Reviews of research Book reviews	Current events General interest	Articles on a certain business or industry. News, trends, promotional materials.
Purpose	Share original research or scholarship with the academic community	Entertainment Current events Popular Culture	Inform about: Business or industry news, trends, or products.
Audience	Scholars, researchers, students	General public Nonprofessionals	Business/industry professionals and practitioners
Authorship	Expert or specialist in the field. Name and credentials always provided.	Staff writers, journalists, freelancers. Credentials often not provided.	Staff writers, business/industry professionals.
Review Policy	Peer reviewed (refereed) Reviewed and critically evaluated by experts in the field.	Staff editor.	Business/industry professionals and practitioners.
Cites Sources	Research thoroughly documented by: Bibliographies / Works cited Footnotes References Endnotes	None. May refer to other studies.	Few, if any.
Format/Structure	Structured articles typically contain: Abstract / Summary Literature Review Methodology Results Discussion Conclusion Bibliography	No specific format.	No specific format.
Pagination	Page numbers consecutive through all issues in a single volume.	Individual issues begin with Page 1.	Each issue generally begins with Page 1.
Special Features	Illustrations that support text Statistical tables, graphs, maps Longer articles Few ads, usually for scholarly products or books.	Glossy photos & illustrations. Many ads for variety of products.	Ads geared toward specific industry.