Popular magazine vs. scholarly journal-- Can you tell the difference?

When an instructor requires you to use scholarly or professional journals as a resource, as opposed to popular magazines, what does this mean?

POPULAR MAGAZINES are things that can be easily purchased at a grocery store or newsstand - things like Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Glamour, Ladies' Home Journal, and People. They are usually published weekly or monthly. The articles within them are usually written by reporters, not by experts in various fields. They feature lots of photographs and illustrations and advertisements. The articles are generally easy enough for the lay person to understand.

SCHOLARLY/PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS are not usually available at a newsstand -- you might need to find them at a library, specialty bookseller or even order a subscription. The articles within them are written by true experts in the field. Often the articles are "peer reviewed" or "refereed" - meaning after the article is submitted for publication, a team of other experts review the article and make suggestions for improvements and changes. There are few if any advertisements and photographs within professional/scholarly journals. They are published less frequently than magazines - monthly, quarterly, or even less frequently than that.

For more information on the difference between popular magazines and scholarly journals, try these links:

 www.unk.edu/acad/library/ref/schvpop.htm
 www.lib.uiowa.edu/faq/mag.html
 www.lib.montana.edu/instruct/guides/magjour.html

Where Can I Find Popular Magazine or Scholarly Journal articles in the Harper College Library? Go to the library's "Indexes and Databases" page:  Click here

Use the charts below to determine which index will help you find the right type of article, whether from a popular magazine, scholarly journal, or both.

EBSCOHOST DATABASES

POPULAR MAGAZINES:	SCHOLARLY JOURNALS:
Academic Search Premier	Academic Search Premier
Business Source Elite	Business Source Elite
PsycINFO	PsycINFO
-----------	Health Source Nursing/Academic edition
Health Source Consumer edition	Health Source Consumer edition

Last Updated 11/03/05