SCHOLARLY |
POPULAR |
||||
|
General Interest |
Trade / Professional |
Sensational |
||
LENGTH |
Long; 8 pages or more |
Short; 6 pages or less |
Short; 6 pages or less |
Short |
|
CONTENT |
Original research or experimentation. Format: title, abstract, literature review, methodology, discussion, conclusion, bibliography |
Broad focus topics:culture, politics, etc. |
News, trends, developments and products for industry or profession |
Celebrity gossip, unusual news stories that may lack credibility |
|
READERSHIP or AUDIENCE |
Academics Students Professionals |
Educated audience but non-specialists |
Professionals and experts in the field |
Gullible audience, appeal to superstitions and prejudice |
|
AUTHOR |
Specialists and researchers in a subject area |
Staff or freelance writers who may have subject expertise |
Professionals in the field, and/or staff writers |
Often unidentified |
|
VOCABULARY |
Technical vocabulary and specialized jargon |
Average level ranging from formal to conversational |
Some specialized vocabulary but fairly readable |
Elementary and inflammatory, popular language |
|
ACCOUNTABILITY |
Peer reviewed Significant references |
Not peer reviewed Minimal references |
Not peer reviewed Minimal references |
Not peer reviewed Entirely unsubstantiated |
|
ADVERTISEMENTS |
Few or none |
Moderate |
Moderate (tend to be trade related) |
Many |
|
APPEARANCE |
Plain, black/white graphics, charts and figures |
Glossy w/ color with photographs and illustrations |
Glossy w/ color with photographs and illustrations |
Newspaper format, color with many photographs |
|
EXAMPLES |
The Journal of the American Medical Association
Journal of Sport and Social Issue |
The Atlantic Monthly
Sports Illustrated
Time
Vogue |
Advertising Age
American Teacher
Publishers Weekly
Supermarket News |
National Examiner
Star
Weekly World News |
|
This chart has been adapted from UC Santa Cruz's web page "Distinguish Between Popular and Scholarly Periodicals". |
Vanderbilt University, Peabody Library, 3:12
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