English / INRW Gomez

• Are often written by journalists or professional writers for a general audience
• Use language easily understood by general readers
• Rarely give full citations for sources
• Written for the general public
• Tend to be shorter than journal articles

Examples of Popular Magazines:

Scholarly Articles (Journals)

• Are written by and for faculty, researchers or scholars (chemists, historians, doctors, artists, etc.)
• Uses scholarly or technical language
• Tend to be longer articles about research
• Include full citations for sources 
• Are often refereed or peer reviewed (articles are reviewed by an editor and other specialists before being accepted for publication)
• Book reviews and editorials are not considered scholarly articles, even when found in scholarly journals

Examples of Scholarly Journals:

Some points to remember:

• Both magazine and journal articles can be good sources for your work. 
• When selecting articles, think about how you intend to use the information: 
  • Do you want background on a topic new to you? (use magazines)  
  • Did your teacher say to cite scholarly resources? (use journals)  
• Often a combination of the two will be most appropriate for undergraduate research. 

From the University of Arizona