Types of Periodicals: Home

Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-scholarly Periodicals

Journals and magazines, collectively referred to as periodicals, are important sources of up-to-date information in all disciplines. In the future you may need to read a particular type of periodical known as a scholarly or research-oriented journal. This guide is designed to help you distinguish between a scholarly journal and other types of periodicals.

Periodical Classification:

There are four broad categories of periodicals:

1. scholarly or research-oriented
2. professional, trade, or industry
3. news or opinion
4. popular

Use the information in this guide's chart to help you distinguish between a scholarly journal and other types of periodicals.

Scholarly vs Peer Reviewed?

A scholarly article:

• is based on original research or experimentation
• is written by a researcher or expert in the field who is often affiliated with a college or university
• includes footnotes and/or a bibliography
• may include graphs or charts as illustrations instead of glossy pictures
• appears in a scholarly journal published by an academic press

Peer-reviewed journals (or "refereed" journals) are scholarly journals that only publish articles that have passed through a review process during which other scholars in the author's field or specialty read the article and determine the merit of the manuscript. The review process helps ensure that the published articles reflect credible scholarship in their fields. The reputation of the journal depends on the publication of credible scholarship.

If in Doubt:

A periodical may not be clearly within one of the four categories outlined above. If in doubt, see Magazines for Libraries (Ref. Z6941.M23). Use the title index at the back to locate your periodical. Another option is Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory. This is an online resource available to WIU users.