This guide will help you distinguish between scholarly journals, magazines, and trade publications - both print and online - and will help you identify and evaluate these types of sources.

For more assistance, Ask Us or stop by the Reference Desk in any of the SFU Library branches.

 

 

Definitions

• Serials
  • Is the broad term for any publication issued periodically, including newspapers, journals, magazines, annuals, numbered monographic series and the proceedings, transactions and memoirs of societies.
• Periodicals
  • All periodicals are serials, but are publications issued at regular intervals (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) and are intended to continue indefinitely
  • Include newspapers, magazines, journals, and trade publications
• Scholarly journal
  • Also called academic journal or very often peer-reviewed journal. Includes original research articles, written by researchers and experts in a particular academic discipline.
• Peer-reviewed journal
  • Also known as scholarly journal, or academic journal, or refereed journal. Publishes only original research articles that are subjected to a rigorous evaluation through the peer-review process.
  • The majority of scholarly journals go through the peer-review process, although there are some that are scholarly and non-peer reviewed, such as Journal of financial econometrics.
•  Peer-review process
  • Also known as the referee process
  • An editorial board asks subject experts to review and evaluate submitted articles before accepting them for publication in a scholarly journal
  • Submissions are evaluated using criteria including the excellence, novelty and significance of the research or ideas
  • Scholarly journals use this process to protect and maintain the quality of material they publish
  • Members of the editorial board are listed near the beginning of each journal issue
• Primary sources
  • Provide firsthand information in the original words of the creator or eye witness
  • Include creative works, for example: poetry, drama, novels, music, art, films
  • Include original documents, for example: interviews, diaries, speeches, letters, minutes, film footage, oral histoires, manuscripts
  • Include reports of original research and ideas, for example: statistical data, case studies, conference papers, technical reports and research papers published in scholarly journals
  • For more information, see Primary vs. Secondary Sources in Humanities and in Sciences, from the BMCC Library.
•  Secondary Sources
  • Provide information reviewing, evaluating, analyzing or interpreting primary sources
  • Include criticism and interpretation of creative works
  • Include interpretations of original documents, for example: biographies, historical analyses, textbooks and encyclopedia articles
  • Include summaries and reviews of scholarly findings, for example review articles, textbooks, encyclopedia articles and both scholarly journal and popular magazine articles
• Review articles
  • Are secondary sources that report and summarize other authors' works on a given subject
  • Are a useful overview tool; they provide a summary of recent research on a particular subject
  • Review articles are not considered research articles
• Research Articles
  • Articles describing new research or ideas
  • Written in a formal manner that includes background information, methods used, results/interpretation and significance
• Open Access (OA) Journals
  • Journals that are freely available online - this term specifically refers to free scholarly journals
  • Examples: Northwest Journal of Linguistics, Current Issues in Education

 

 

Scholarly Journals, Magazines, and Trade Publications

The table below provides a quick comparison between scholarly journals, magazines, and trade publications:

	Scholarly Journals	Magazines	Trade Publications
Authors	Academics and experts in the discipline or field who are always identified	Professional writers, not necessarily experts; writers are not always identified	Industry experts, professionals, or practitioners who are not always identified
Purpose	Facilitate scholarly communication between members of a particular academic discipline and/or the public	Provide general information and entertainment to a broad audience	Provide information to members of a particular industry or profession
Content Description	Extensive research articles and analysis written in formal academic styles; some of these types of articles can be considered primary sources May include scholarly review articles or news sections which briefly report on new research; these are not research articles  Plain covers, and generally more charts, graphs, and illustrations than photographs; sometimes advertising Often have the word "journal" in the title Information is always specific to a particular academic discipline or field, and usually requires professional or academic knowledge to be fully understood	General interest articles that can include a mixture of fact, anecdote, and/or opinion Glossy covers, many pictures, extensive use of colour images, and usually much advertising Often called "popular magazines" No special vocabulary or knowledge is generally required to understand	Exclusively professional, industry, or trade information Articles can be fact, anecdote, and/or opinion. Usually have colourful covers, and quite often advertising specific to the profession, trade, or industry Often require professional knowledge and vocabulary to be fully understood
Publishers	Academic organisations	Commercial publishers	Usually professional and trade organisations
Citations, footnotes/endnotes, and/or bibliographies	Always	Usually none	Sometimes
Peer Reviewed	Almost always Editorial board members are listed in each journal issue, and/or on the journal's website.	No	Very rarely
Format	Print and electronic	Print and electronic	Print and electronic
How to Access	Paid subscriptions to print or electronic versions Electronic versions are usually accessed through subscription databases Sometimes available online free of charge as Open Access journals or through Google Scholar	Paid subscriptions to print or electronic versions Electronic versions are usually accessed through databases, and sometimes through the magazine's website	Paid subscriptions to print or electronic versions Electronic versions are usually accessed through business databases, and sometimes through websites
Examples of subscription publications	Canadian Journal of History The Linguistic Review Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Biomechanics	Maclean's National Geographic Psychology Today Sport's Illustrated Scientific American	Canadian Banker Food in Canada Sight and Sound
Examples of Open Access publications	Northwest Journal of Linguistics Current Issues in Education

 

 Another way of determining what kind of serial publication you are using is Verifying Journal types with Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

Finding Scholarly Journals at SFU

For many assignments, you may be asked to use only articles from scholarly journals, and you will usually use a database to find these articles. Some, but not all, databases have a feature that allows you to limit your results to peer-reviewed journal articles only. The following screen images show examples of five common database that allow you to limit your results this way. The red arrows point to the limiter checkboxes/tabs:

Academic Search Premier:

 CBCA Complete:

Humanities & Social Sciences Index:

PAIS International:

 

Philosopher's Index:

Note: You must first run a search before you can narrow your results to peer-reviewed journals.

 

Please see our How to find Journal Articles guide for more information on conducting journal article research.

 

 

Verifying Journal types with Ulrich's Periodicals Directory

Another way to determine a journal's publication type is to use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, a database that contains bibliographic information on over 240,000 journals, magazines, and newspapers world-wide. It is listed in the SFU Library Databases pages under "U".

Example 1:

1. Connect to Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
2. In the quick search box, select Title (exact) and enter: Canadian Journal of History

In the results list, a refereed icon (see the arrow in the screen image below) indicates that a publication is peer-reviewed.


 

1.  Click on the journal title to get the detailed record with more information:

• A - Publishing body is an academic organisation
• B - The document type is a Journal; Academic/Scholarly
• C - Once again, it is indicated that the journal is refereed.  

 

Example 2:

In the next screen image, you can see the difference between this scholarly journal and a popular magazine, Maclean's

• A - It is published by a major commercial publisher
• B - The document type is Magazine; consumer
• C - The subject area is General Interest Periodicals

  

 

 Example 3

Now look at the Ulrich's record for the trade magazine Food in Canada:

• A - Document type is Magazine; Trade
• B - Special Features include information relevant for an industry such as patents and trade literature. 

 

 

How to critically evaluate sources

Learning how to quickly determine the relevance and authority of a given resource for your research is one of the the core skills of the research process. Use the criteria below to critically evaluate each source you are considering using (especially popular sources).

• Timeliness/Currency
  • The information should not be too old, as it might have been superseded by other research
• Authority
  • Authors and their credentials should be clearly identified
  • Authors should have an educational background with past writings and/or experience in the subject area
  • In general, government, academic and non-profit web sites are more reliable than personal or commercial web sites
• Accuracy and completeness
  • Information should appear to be valid and well researched
  • Authors should indicate their research methods and provide supportive evidence for their conclusions
  • Should not include obvious errors or omissions
  • Should have a bibliography
• Objectivity
  • Should be informing you, not trying to persuade you of something or sell you something
  • Information should be fact not opinion (note: skilled writers can make their opinions seem like facts)
• Quality control
  • Should not have obvious errors such as poor spelling or poor grammar (unlikely that a reliable source would include such errors)
• Coherent organization
  • Should be logically organized
  • Main points should be clearly presented
  • Author's argument should not be repetitive or circular
• Reasonableness
  • Given what you already know about the subject, it should seem reasonable
  • Should not contradict information you have found elsewhere; if it does check other sources to determine which information is correct

 

Additional Information and Resources

See the following SFU guides for more information on periodicals, evaluating information, and on the academic research and writing process: 

• Start Your Research Here
• Locating Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers
• Internet Research: Finding and Evaluating Resources
• How to find Journal Articles
• Writing & Style Guides
• Writing for University

The Student Learning Commons is an excellent place for resources on the research and writing process. You can also arrange a personal consultation.