Evaluating Articles

Know how to identify scholarly (or peer reviewed) vs. trade periodicals for your assignment.

Types of Periodicals

Popular Magazine

Published by... a commercial firm/ company

Written by... journalists

Written to... entertain a general audience

Articles include... attention-grabbing content and advertisements

Language is... basic with no advanced terms

Trade Magazine/ Journal

Published by... a commercial firm or professional organization

Written by... professionals in the field or field-specific journalists

Written to... inform an audience of practitioners

Articles include... in-depth information and advertisements but usually no citations

Language is... accessible with field-specific terms

Scholarly/ Academic Journal

Published by... a university or academic association

Written by... researchers and scholars

Written to... inform an audience of students and scholars

Articles include... abstracts, citations, but no advertisements

Language is... advanced with field-specific terms

Courtesy of Wayne State University Library

Audience: Professional
Purpose: To keep professionals informed about news, trends, and practices in their field
Format: Various article lengths with some industry jargon
Sources: Quotes and sources are usually given attribution in-text, but are rarely cited separately

Audience: Academic
Purpose: To inform and advance scholarship
Format: Longer format, often with field-specific language and limited illustrations
Sources: Scholarly articles always cite their sources in footnotes and/or bibliographies