Scholarly, Trade, and Popular Sources
Image from Susan Slaga-Metivier's research guide at Central Connecticut State University
| Criteria | Scholarly Journal | Trade Journal | Popular Magazine |
| Example Covers |
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| Examples |
American Journal of Psychology Journal of the American Medical Association American History Review Quarterly Journal of Food Science and Technology |
Advertising Age Education Week Supply and Demand Chain Executive American Libraries |
Psychology Today Newsweek National Geographic Time Life |
| Authors |
Authors are scholars writing about their own research. They are usually affiliated with a college, university, or research institute and that affiliation will be stated. Unpaid. |
Author is usually a professional in the field. Staff writers, industry specialists, or vendor representatives. Paid. | Author is frequently a journalist, staff writer, or freelance writer. May or may not have subject expertise. Paid. |
| Audience |
Scholars, researchers, and students. |
Professionals in the field; the interested non-specialist. | General public; the interested non-specialist. |
| Content |
In-depth, primary account of original findings written by the researcher(s) or reviews of original research; very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication. |
Current news, trends and products in a specific industry; practical information for professionals working in the field or industry. | Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal narrative or opinion; general information, purpose is to entertain or inform. |
| References/Works Cited |
Required. Quotes and facts are verifiable. |
Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required. | Rare. Little, if any, information about source materials is given. |
| Editorial Review | Journal editorial board and peer reviewers. Unpaid. | Professional editors. No peer review. Paid. |
Professional editors. No peer review. Paid. |
Acknowledgements: Table adapted from La Loria Konata's Scholarly, Trade, and Popular Sources from Georgia State University, and the Scholarly, Trade, and Popular Publications research guide from Ithaca College Library.
Peer-reviewed and refereed are synonyms for the same process. Articles in peer-reviewed journals are reviewed by a group of the writer's peers (other academics in their field) before the articles are published. You can find out if a journal (and its articles) is peer-reviewed by searching for the journal title in Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.
Enter the journal title and click the search button.
In the search results, look for the referee jersey
icon. Remember: "refereed" and "peer-reviewed" are often used interchangeably.
Alternatively, click on the journal title to see the full record. If it says Refereed Yes, then you know the journal (and the articles published in it) are refereed/peer-reviewed.
Acknowledgements: UlrichsWeb search instructions adapted from the Understanding Peer-Review research guide from the University of Toronto Scarborough Library.
What is a Scholarly Article?
Evaluation Criteria
This handout from CSU Chico covers the major criteria used to evaluate information: currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose.