| Popular Magazines | Scholarly Journals | |
|---|---|---|
| Who reads these? | General Public | Professionals in a field Scholars "Experts" |
| Who writes these? | Reporters Journalists Almost anyone |
Professionals in a field Scholars "Experts" |
| What's in them? | News Non-technical language Entertainment and general interest articles No bibliographies May be slanted to elicit emotional response |
In-depth research Technical language Original research studies Bibliographies and references Typically more objective |
| What do they look like? | Consumer advertising Glossy photos Attractive layout |
Dense text Fewer, more specialized ads |
| When/how are they available? | Typically available... Weekly Daily *Available at newsstands |
Typically available.. Monthly Quarterly Biannually *Subscription only |
| What are they good for? | Broad overview of complex topics Popular perspective Finding out what is being written about a topic generally |
Current research findings Checking accuracy of data or statistics Reviewing the important research on a specific topic or theme |
| What else? | Usually used as secondary sources Primary source for popular culture Editors and publishers decide what gets printed each issue |
Primary source for lab or field research Secondary sources for literary criticism Panel of author's colleagues decide what gets printed in each issue |
| Some examples? | Time US News and World Report National Geographic New York Times |
American Journal of Sociology Journal of the American Medical Association |