II. TYPES OF PERIODICALS
There are 5 types of periodicals:
1) Scholarly and Research Journals
2) Professional Magazines and Journals
3) Magazines and Journals of Commentary and Opinion
4) Popular Magazines and News Magazines
5) Newspapers
Let’s examine each.
- Scholarly and Research Journals
– specialized publications intended for scholars and students
of a particular discipline or subject. Usually published monthly
or quarterly, these publications often have words such as these
in their title:
Studies in
Review
Annals
Quarterly
Journal
Advances
Here are some examples of scholarly journal titles:
Studies in European History
American Historical Review
Annals of Internal Medicine
Quarterly Review of Film Studies
Journal of the American Medical Association
Advances in Biochemistry
CAUTION: A periodical that has the word “journal”
in its title is not necessarily a scholarly journal. For example,
Ladies Home Journal is not a scholarly journal, even
though the term appears in its title.
Journal of Health Policy, Politics,
and Law -- a scholarly journal
Articles in scholarly journals are written by highly educated
people (often holding Master’s or PhD degrees) who are often
experts, practitioners and teachers in specialized academic fields.
They write articles as a way to communicate with other scholars
and add to the knowledge base of their discipline, always carefully
citing their sources in footnotes and/or bibliographies. Often,
they are reporting the results of original research or experimentation.
Many scholarly journals will not publish an article until it
has been reviewed by an editorial board to insure that it meets
certain standards of scholarly quality. A publication that requires
this formal review is known as a refereed journal,
and sometimes teachers will require you to find articles from
such journals. (Another term for refereed journal
is peer-reviewed journal. “Peer-reviewed”
implies that one’s scholarly peers review your work. Both
terms mean the same thing.)
Articles in scholarly publications can be challenging to read
because they’re not usually intended for the general public
or those unfamiliar with the subject.
- Professional Magazines and
Journals – publications that report on news
and developments in a particular profession, academic field, trade,
or industry. Unlike scholarly journals, they do not publish original
research. Instead, they concentrate on news and trends in a particular
profession or industry. Examples include:
American Psychologist (covers the
psychology profession)
American Music Teacher (covers the
music teaching profession)
Legal Assistant Today (covers the
legal assistant profession)
California Apparel News (covers
the clothing industry)
Automotive News (covers the automotive
industry)
PC Week (covers the computing industry)
Paper Trade Journal (covers a specific
trade)
The American Journalism Review
–a professional journal
- Magazines and Journals of
Commentary and Opinion – offer analysis,
commentary, and investigative reporting on social and political
issues. These publications typically view the world from either
a politically liberal, moderate, or conservative stance. They
sometimes serve as the official “voice” of an activist
organization. Examples include:
LIBERAL |
MODERATE |
CONSERVATIVE |
Monthly Review
Mother Jones
World Marxist Review
The Progressive
|
New Republic
Maclean’s
Economist
|
CATO Journal
American Rifleman
National Review
National Right to Life News
|
National Review -- a magazine
of commentary and opinion
- Popular Magazines and News
Magazines -- commercial publications intended
for the general reader.
Popular magazines focus on popular culture,
i.e. entertainment, cultural trends, sports, hobbies, etc.
News magazines report on national and international
current events, social and political trends, public opinion,
and popular culture. They often offer valuable explanations
and interpretations of events both at home and abroad.
Vibe -- a popular magazine
|
Newsweek -- a news magazine
|
Given below is a table summarizing the main features of the 5 types
of periodicals:
|
Scholarly and Research Journals |
Professional Magazines and Journals
|
Magazines and Journals of Commentary and Opinion
|
Popular Magazines and News Magazines
|
Newspapers
|
Content
|
Reports of original research; previous research often cited;
In-depth analysis intended to advance thinking in a field and
further scholarly communication; articles are peer-reviewed
|
News and developments in a profession, academic field, trade
or industry
|
Analysis, commentary and investigative reporting on social
and political issues. Sometimes serve as the official voice
of a politically active group |
Popular culture, hot topics, current events, public opinion,
etc. |
Local, national, international news, editiorials, entertainment,
adverstising, etc. |
Authors |
Researchers, experts, professors, scholars |
Practitioners in the field or journalists with subject expertise |
Academics, journalists, representatives of various groups |
Journalists |
Journalists and freelance writers |
Language |
Formal, academic language of the discipline. Specialized,
technical language. |
Extensive use of jargon used by practitioners |
Formal, but usually non-technical. |
Non-technical language. Tends to be written in an informal
or entertaining style.
|
Non-technical language. |
Intended audience |
Scholars, researchers, college students |
People in the profession or industry or those seeking employment
in those industries |
General audience |
General audience |
General audience |
Documentation |
Extensive footnotes and bibliographies |
Occasional documentation; sources sometimes cited in text |
Occasional documentation; sources sometimes cited in text |
Sources mentioned, but rarely give formal documentation |
Sources mentioned, but rarely give formal documentation |
Peer-reviewed |
Yes |
No |
Possibly |
No
|
No |
Publisher |
Universities, scholarly presses, research organizations
|
Professional and trade associations; commercial publishers |
Commerical publishers or non-profit organizations |
Commericial publishers
|
Commericial publishers |
Indexed in |
Subject periodical indexes; general periodical indexes |
Subject periodical indexes; general periodical indexes |
General periodical indexes |
General periodical indexes |
Newspaper indexes; general periodical indexes
|
Examples |
* Journal of
African History
* Nature
* American Historical Review
* Current Studies in Anthropology |
* American Journalist
* Hospital Practice
* Studio Potter
* Poets and Writers Magazine |
* National Review
* The Atlantic
* Mother Jones
* New Republic |
* Newsweek
* Time
* People
* Sports Illustrated |
* New York Times
* Washington Post
* SF Chronicle
* Los Angeles Times |
|