Popular Journal/ Magazine
Authors: Reporters, Magazine staff, or Freelance Writers
Audience: General Public
Purpose: Inform, entertain, and cover special interests
Content: Personalities, news and general interest articles
Language: Non-technical
Articles: Brief, providing broad overviews
Review Process: No Formal peer review process, reviewed by editors on staff
Bibliography: Articles rarely include references
Professional/Trade
Authors: Practitioners, Educators, or Specialists within the profession or trade
Audience: Professional in the fields, researchers, and students
Purpose: Provide information and news to practitioners in a profession
Content: New trends, techniques and organizational news
Language: Technical terminology of the profession
Articles: Length varies
Review Process: Includes some peer-review periodicals, most are reviewed by editors (often professionals in the field)
Bibliography: Occasionally cite sources
Scholarly Journal
Authors: Scholars, Researchers, or Experts in the Field
Audience: Researchers, Scholars, Students
Purpose: Inform, report and share original research and experimentation with the rest of the scholarly world
Content: Research results, methodology and theory
Language: Terminology and language of the discipline, reader is assumed to have similar background
Articles: Lengthy, providing in-depth analysis
Review Process: Reviewed by a board of experts in the field or by the author’s peers (peer reviewed)
Bibliography: References/ Bibliographies are always included. Bibliographies or endnotes are in formal style.