IDST 110: Intro to College Writing

How to tell the difference between articles published in popular magazines and those published in scholarly journals?

Scholarly Journals

• Audience: written for professionals, researchers, or scholars
• Length: tend to be long articles supported by research and extensive bibliographies
• Author: written by professionals, researchers, or scholars; are often refereed or peer reviewed
• Style: uses scholarly or technical language, not easily understood by the general reader

Popular (Magazines)

• Audience:  written for a general audience
• Length: usually shorter than scholarly journal articles
• Author: journalist or professional writer
• Style: easy to comprehend by the general reader

Peer Review Definition: The evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field

• Typically written by professors, scholars, professional researchers or experts in the field
• Before publication, articles are scrutinized by other experts in the same field (that's why it's called "peer review")
• Peer-review articles are considered to be among the most authoritative and reliable sources you can choose for your research paper or project, because of the rigorous review process
• Peer reviewed articles usually have a narrow focus, and often report the results of a research study. Often, they can provide excellent examples or case studies to support the arguments or explanations within your research paper