For an assignment, a professor may ask you to find a scholarly journal article. Scholarly journal articles are also called academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed articles. Below are the main differences between popular magazine articles and scholarly journal articles:
POPULAR MAGAZINE
SCHOLARLY JOURNAL
Look and Feel
Glossy, colorful, and eye-appealing covers. Additionally, they contain color photographs, illustrations, and numerous advertisements.
Photographs are only included to supplement research and advertising is kept to a minimum. Additionally, articles may contain charts, graphs, and statistics.
Audience
and
Purpose
Articles are usually written to inform and/or entertain the general population.
To keep other researchers up to date in their field, articles are used to report the results of primary research being conducted in a field of study.
Authors
Articles are written by a staff writer who is usually not an expert on the subject. The author’s qualifications are rarely given.
Articles are written by experts who are often researchers working for academic institutions. The author’s qualifications are almost always provided.
References Cited
Articles are rarely supported with sources. You don’t typically find a reference list at the end of a magazine article.
Authors of journal articles use extensive resources to back up their research. With journal articles, you get a lot of references.
Credibility
Before publication, articles are checked for accuracy by an editor.
Editors are usually not subject experts in any area of study.
Articles go through an extensive review process by other qualified researchers before publication. Proper scientific methodology, statistical analysis, and overall research quality are assessed.
Examples
Time, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, Ladies' Home Journal, Discover, National Geographic
Journal of Education Finance, Annals of Mathematics, History of Education Quarterly, Harvard Business Review