Your instructor has asked you to find an article in a scholarly or peer-reviewed journal. Scholarly journals are different from popular magazines in several important ways. A primary difference between scholarly journals and other types of magazines is that articles in these journals undergo a "peer review" process before they are published. What does this mean?
Adapted from San Diego State University Library.
Criteria |
Scholarly Journal |
Popular Magazine |
|---|---|---|
| Example |
 |
 |
| Content | In-depth, primary account of original findings written by the researcher(s); very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication. | Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal narrative or opinion; general information, purpose is to entertain or inform. |
| Author (Authority) | Author's credentials are provided; usually a scholar or specialist with subject expertise. | Author is frequently a journalist paid to write articles, may or may not have subject expertise. |
| Audience (Coverage) | Scholars, researchers, and students. | General public; the interested non-specialist. |
| Language | Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires expertise in subject area. | Vocabulary in general usage; easily understandable to most readers. |
| Graphics | Graphs, charts, and tables; very few advertisements and photographs. | Graphs, charts and tables; lots of glossy advertisements and photographs. |
| Layout & Organization | Structured; includes the article abstract, goals and objectives, methodology, results (evidence), discussion, conclusion, and bibliography. | Informal; may include non-standard formatting. May not present supporting evidence or a conclusion. |
| Accountability (Objectivity) | Articles are evaluated by peer-reviewers or referees who are experts in the field; edited for content, format, and style. | Articles are evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field; edited for format and style. |
| References (Objectivity) | Required. Quotes and facts are verifiable. | Rare. Little, if any, information about source materials is given. |
| Paging | Page numbers are typically consecutive across multiple issues of each volume. | Each issue begins with page 1. |
| Title Examples |
Annals of Mathematics, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, History of Education Quarterly
|
Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Cooking Light, Discover
|
Young Children - (1964-2001) Issues available online through the JSTOR database. Recent issues also available in print at the SJC Library.
YC (title change continuation of Young Children) - (2002-present) Issues available online through JSTOR. Recent issues also available in print at the SJC Library.
Young Exceptional Children - (1999-present) Issues available in print at the MVC Library. Articles also searchable through the EBSCO database. Search for the journal name using EBSCO's Advanced Search option.
Library databases can be used to find articles from peer-reviewed scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers.
Note: off-campus access to library databases requires that you sign on using your mymsjc username and password.
