Helpful Hint
- Always check an article's bibliography or footnotes for additional sources on your subject. This is a quick way to find more information.
Trade vs Popular vs Scholarly Literature
| CRITERIA | POPULAR MAGAZINES | TRADE MAGAZINES | SCHOLARLY JOURNALS |
Appearance |
eye-catching cover
glossy paper pictures and illustrations in color each issue starts with page 1 |
cover depicts industrial setting glossy paper pictures and illustrations in color each issue starts with page 1 | plain cover
plain paper black/white graphics and illustrations pages consecutive throughout each volume |
| Audience |
nonprofessionals | members of a specific business, industry or organization | researchers and professionals |
|
Content
|
personalities, news, and general interest articles
articles written by staff, may be unsigned |
industry trends, new products or techniques, and organizational news
articles written by staff or contributing authors |
research projects, methodology, and theory
articles written by contributing authors |
| Accountability | editorial review
no bibliographies |
editorial review
may have short bibliographies |
peer review/refereed
has bibliographies |
| Advertisements | heavy | moderate
all or most are trade related |
few or none |
| Examples | Gourmet New York Psychology Today Time  |
Chilton's Food Engineering Public Management APA Monitor Advertising Age |
Journal of Food Science Urban Studies Journal of Applied Psychology Journal of Extension |
