1.7.3.1 Magazines versus Scholarly Journals

Magazines are periodicals which are of popular interest and written in non-scholarly language and format. Magazines are usually heavily illustrated and contain advertising. Articles are usually short in length, do not include bibliographies and often do not indicate an author.

Journals publish original research and commentary on recent developments in specific disciplines.

When referring to journals, the terms scholarly, refereed and peer-reviewed are often used.

Articles published in scholarly journals report on research or analytical studies undertaken in a scholarly environment. Scholarly journals:

• may be peer-reviewed or refereed
• are usually published by an academic institution, research body, professional organisation or scholarly press
• don't usually contain a lot of glossy pictures and advertisements.

Articles published within scholarly journals:

• often start with an abstract
• always include footnotes or bibliographies.
• list the author and their credentials or affiliated institution
• often use specialised language
• assume some scholarly background on the part of the reader.

Articles published in refereed or peer-reviewed journals are subjected to a strict approval process. One or more experts on the subject act as referees who review the article before it is accepted for publication. This process is designed to ensure the article is accurate, well researched, and contributes to the body of knowledge in a field. Peer-reviewed is synonymous with refereed.

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