Types of Periodicals

Scholarly & Research Journals American Historical Review Journal of Educational Research Plasma Physics Social Psychology Quarterly Reports of original research; In depth analysis of issues related to the discipline; Academic level book reviews; Refereed or peerreviewed Academic; Can be very technical; Uses the language of the discipline Researchers, academics, professors, scholars, etc. Footnotes and bibliographies, Often very extensive documentation Universities, scholarly presses or academic/research organizations Graphs, charts, formulas, depending on the discipline; No glossy ads here at all Professional, Trade & Industry Journals RN Science Teacher Restaurants and Institutions American Libraries Current trends, news & products in a field; Company, organization, & biographical information; Statistics, forecasts; Employment & career information; Book and product reviews Written for practitioners; Can use jargon extensively Practitioners in the field or journalists with subject expertise Occasional brief bibliographies; Sources sometimes cited in text Commercial publishers or professional and trade associations Photographs, charts, tables, illustrations of all sorts; Sometimes glossy ads Journals of Commentary & Opinion Mother Jones National Review Atlantic New Republic Newspapers New York Times Washington Post Christian Science Monitor Wall Street Journal Popular Magazines Time Newsweek Sports Illustrated Readers Digest

Examples

Values & Uses

Language

Commentaries on social & political issues; Some indepth analysis; Political viewpoints, liberal, conservative & other; Sometimes acts as voice of activist organization; Speeches & interviews; Book reviews Written for a general educated audience Extremely variable; Can be academics, journalists, representatives of various groups Occasionally cite sources in text or provide short bibliographies Commercial publishers or non-profit organizations Wide variety of appearances; Some very plain, others lots of gloss

Current information; Hard news; Local and regional information; Classified ads; Editorials; Speeches; Book reviews; Primary source for information on events Written for a general educated audience Journalists

Current events; Hot topics; Primary source for analysis of popular culture; Short articles; Generally not much depth; Interviews Non-technical language Generally, journalists and freelance writers Rarely cite any sources Commercial publishers Very glossy; Full of color ads of all sorts

Authors

Sources

Rarely cite any sources in full Commercial publishers

Publisher

Graphics

Pictures, charts, ads of all sorts