Calhoun Community College Library - Handouts
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Periodical Types
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A periodical is a type of publication
that appears at regular, predictable, short intervals. They include such
items as magazines, scholarly or professional journals, industry/trade
journals, newspapers, and newsletters.
When doing research, it is important to
understand the differences between popular/general interest magazines,
scholarly/professional journals, and industry/trade journals. Click on the
links below to see an explanation of each type.
Often, an instructor will specify
that you limit your research to scholarly or professional journals. If,
after checking the descriptions above, you are still uncertain as to the
category of the journal you are using, please ask a reference librarian for
help in making this determination.
The Ebsco Academic Search Premier and Gale InfoTrac and Expanded Academic ASAP databases include a check
box to limit your search, in most cases, to articles that have been
published in scholarly or professional journals by checking the box to limit
your search to "peer reviewed" or "refereed publications."
To assist you in identifying
scholarly/professional journals as opposed to magazines, check out this
quick magazine/journal comparison chart. |
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Popular/General Interest Magazines
The
term magazine is usually applied to popular or consumer type
publications that are generally for sale on newsstands.
- audience:
presentation style is aimed at general public
- authorship:
usually written by journalists or staff writers; the
author's name may or may not be noted
- documentation:
there is usually no documentation of sources such as notes,
footnotes, or bibliographies
- review process:
articles printed in magazines are reviewed only by the
editorial staff of the publication itself and not by any outside
body
- appearance:
magazines are usually printed on slick, glossy paper and
contain both black & white and color pictures and photographs
- advertisements:
numerous advertisements are included
- publishers:
commercial publishers
- frequency:
usually weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly
- indexing:
this type of periodical is indexed in general magazine
indexes such as Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
- examples:
Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated,
National Geographic
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Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Professional Journals
Scholarly journals publish original
research in the sciences and social sciences, and essays, criticism, and
reviews in the humanities. They are subject specific in focus, are written
for the use of scholars, and are seldom sold by the issue on newsstands.
- audience:
scholars, researchers, and students
- authorship:
authors are experts or researchers in the specific field
addressed; author names are noted, often with an indication
as to their credentials
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documentation:
articles contain extensive documentation including notes
and bibliographies
- review
process:
articles are refereed or peer reviewed by an outside
body of experts in the specific field covered
- appearance:
scholarly journals are seldom printed on slick or glossy
paper and are plain and conservative in appearance; they
contain few, if any, pictures or photographs, though graphs
and diagrams are used often
-
advertisements:
there is little or no advertising
- publishers:
usually, though not always, published by professional
organizations or academic institutions
- frequency:
usually quarterly, semi-annually, or even annually
- indexing:
are indexed in subject specific indexes such as
Humanities Index or Social Sciences Index
- examples:
Journal of Applied Psychology, Political
Science Quarterly, Modern Fiction Studies
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Industry/Trade
Journals
Industry or trade journals contain articles
concerning a specific industry. These publications are usually sold
only by subscription, though some can be found for sale on the
newsstand.
- audience:
intended to inform those involved in a specific
industry or trade
- authorship:
written by journalists, staff writers, or others in
the field being addressed; the author's name may or may
not be noted
- documentation:
generally no documentation of sources such as notes,
footnotes, or bibliographies
- review process:
articles are usually only reviewed in-house and not
by any outside body
- appearance:
trade magazines are usually printed on slick, glossy
paper and contain both black & white and color pictures
and photographs
- advertisements:
numerous advertisements are included
- publishers:
most are published by associations, though some are
published by commercial publishers
- frequency:
usually weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly
- indexing:
this type of periodical is indexed in general
magazine indexes such as Reader's Guide to Periodical
Literature; they can also appear in subject specific
publications as well, such as Social Sciences Index
or Business Periodicals Index
- examples:
Advertising Age, Publishers' Weekly,
American Teacher, American Libraries
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