journals

toc =Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines=



It is important at the academic level to understand the difference between journals and magazines. Both are research sources, but they are not the same **type** of source. Scholarly journals are academic in nature and are written for professionals, teachers and students, where as popular magazines are written for a wide general audience. Below are the differences.

Journals
A journal is a publication that is academic in nature. Journals are for professionals or people working in a specific field, specialist and researchers. The articles are usually written by experts in the field and tend to be original research. Many are peered reviewed to determine their pertinence to a field. Journals articles usually have extensive bibliographies or references and the articles tend to be much longer and more specific than a magazine article.

Peered reviewed Article: An article that is reviewed by "peers" or professionals in the field of the published research or article. The articles are reviewed to determine the validity and pertinence to the field.

There are two types of Journals: Examples: //Journal of Educational Research, Community College Review, Nursing Clinics of North America.// Examples: //Massachusetts Nurse Advocate, Chronicle of Higher Education, Computer World.//
 * Academic or Scholarly Journals: Articles written by professors and researchers and are usually peered reviewed. Information is specific and detailed.
 * Trade Journals: Articles written by and for a specific field or industry. Articles may be written by industry experts, professionals or journalist with a specific knowledge of the subject matter. Current issues, news and developments.

There are also different types of Journal articles:
 * Research articles: Published results of research discussing the method and the results of the research. These articles are usually lengthy and have extensive bibliographies.
 * Letter/Communication articles: These articles are short summaries of important developments or breakthroughs in a field.
 * Review articles: These articles are not original research, but a review of published articles in a specific field or topic to determine what is being researched or written about.
 * Research note articles: These are short summaries of completed or ongoing research.
 * Supplemental articles: These are follow up or data information on completed research.

=Popular Magazines=

Magazines are intended for general audiences and have short articles intended to inform and entertain. Magazines usually have many pictures and are written by journalist with no subject expertise. Information is broad and not specific. Magazines are generally not used as a main source for academic research and should be used to gain general knowledege or as a supplemental source.

Examples: //Time, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone.//

=Periodical Chart=

about specific topic. ||< Medium length, industry information. ||< Short, brief, general information. || Academics. ||< Practitioners in the field, Journalists with subject expertise. ||< General journalist, Freelance writers. || researchers. ||< Professionals, field related workers. ||< Anyone. || original research, field jargon, structured format. ||< Statistics, current trends, information about an industry, book and product reviews. ||< Current events, pop culture, entertainment, book reviews. || Article is reviewed by a board. ||< Some are peer reviewed, most are edited by persons with knowledge of the field. ||< Editor of publication. || academic presses. Usually published monthly/bi-monthly/quarterly. ||< Commercial publishers. Published daily or weekly. ||< Commercial publishers. Published daily or weekly. || text citations. ||< Bibliography usually not provided, occasional in text citations. Citations rare. ||
 * ~  ||~ Academic Journals ||~ Trade Journals ||~ Poular Magazines ||
 * **Length** ||< Longer, in-depth information
 * **Authors** ||< Experts in field, professors, researchers,
 * **Audience** ||< Professors, professionals, students,
 * **Content** ||< Complex writing, in-depth analysis,
 * **Editors** ||< Peer reviewed or refereed reviewed.
 * **Publishers** ||< Professional associations, universities,
 * **Credits** ||< Extensive bibliography, footnotes. ||< May include bibliography, occasional in

Web sites
There are many good web sites on the internet. These web sites have been evaluated by library staff. Remember to always evaluate internet resources. To find out more about evaluating web sites, [|Lesley University] has a very good guide.

Websites
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=Citing Sources: Style Guides=

__[|APA Style Tutorial]__ [|Duke Library Guide to Assembling a List of Works Cited] [|Laguardia Community College Library MLA and APA citation style] [|The Owl at Purdue: APA Formatting and Style Guide] [|The Owl at Purdue: MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide]

=Basic Research Help= Please click the Ask a Librarian icon if you have any questions concerning these guides, need help finding material for your research or any general questions you might have.
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Research guide prepared on 12/18/12 by William Hoag: whoag@rcc.mass.edu