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Scholarly |
Popular |
Trade |
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Written by |
Authorities in the field, such as professors or researchers. Often an article has several authors. |
Journalists, staff writers, or freelance writers. Usually an article has only one author. Sometimes no author is listed. |
Specialists in the field. Usually an article has only one author. Sometimes no author is listed. |
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Written for |
Other authorities and scholars in the field. Authors expect readers to understand specialized language. The tone of the writing is formal. |
A general audience. Often written to entertain as well as to inform. Authors explain terms the reader might not be familiar with. The tone is usually informal. |
People who work in the field. Written to offer practical information, news, etc. Authors expect readers to understand specialized language. |
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Sources cited |
Sources are cited in a formal style in endnotes, footnotes, or bibliographies. |
Sources may be mentioned, but are unlikely to be cited formally. |
Sources may be mentioned, but are unlikely to be cited formally. |
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Appearance |
Usually has formal, labeled sections for the abstract, conclusions, bibliography, etc. If there are any images, they are probably charts, graphs, or tables. |
No abstract or other formal sections. Images are large and colorful in a PDF file; in an HTML version, there will be placeholders like [color photo]. |
Unlikely to have formal sections. Images are usually intended to illustrate concepts rather than decorate the page. |
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Peer review |
Yes |
No |
No |
If this information is not available, you can look up almost any publication in Ulrich's International Periodical, see link below.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License.