Types of Periodicals
TYPES OF PERIODICALS
The thousands of periodicals in the Ralph Brown Draughon Library form a continuum ranging from "popular" magazines through "trade/technical" publications to "scholarly/professional/refereed" journals. It is important to know the difference. The following chart lists the typical characteristics of these three kinds of periodicals. Evaluating a periodical by these criteria should allow for the choice of appropriate sources for various types of assignments. Keep in mind, however, that some periodicals defy easy categories.
|
Publisher |
POPULAR |
TRADE/PROFESSIONAL |
SCHOLARLY |
|
commercial firm |
commercial firm or association |
university or association |
|
|
Frequency |
weekly,biweekly, or monthly |
weekly, biweekly, or monthly |
quarterly |
|
Audience |
general readers |
special readers (persons employed in that field) |
special readers (academics & researchers) |
|
Appearance |
colorful, illustrated |
colorful, illustrated |
plain, mostly text |
|
Article Type |
short, nontechnical w.photos & graphics |
short, technical w. photos & graphics |
long, research style w. tables & charts |
|
Writing Style |
informal, journalistic |
informal, journalistic |
formal and/or scientific |
|
Authors |
staff writers |
staff writers & persons employed in that field |
academics and researchers |
|
News Content |
covers broad issues and popular and/or business affairs |
covers narrow trade or professional issues |
NO news coverage |
|
Advertising |
ads for business or consumer products |
ads for specialized trade/professional products & services |
ads for books, if any |
|
Research Apparatus |
none |
none |
extensive bibliographies & advanced statistics |
|
Examples |
Business Week, Sports Illustrated, People, Newsweek, National Geographic, The Economist |
Advertising Age, Columbia Journalism Review, ENR(Engineering News Record), Women's Wear Daily |
Academy of Management, Shakespeare Quarterly, Journal of Virology, Fisheries Research, |
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