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Answered By: David Hisle
Last Updated: Nov 09, 2015     Views: 323

Scholarly and Professional/Trade Periodicals:

What’s the Difference?

 

 

 

Scholarly

Professional/Trade

Audience

Scholars, researchers, students

Professionals in the field or industry

Authors

Credentials provided; usually a scholar or specialist in a particular field; articles often have joint authors.

Professionals in the field; sometimes a journalist with subject expertise.

Graphics

Graphs, charts & tables; very few advertisements and photographs.

Photographs; some graphs, charts, and advertisements targeted to professionals in the field.

Content

In-depth, very specific information with the goal of scholarly communication; original research

Industry news, trends, and statistics; practical information for professionals working in the field or industry

Language

Academic or scholarly language; Specialized terminology; may require knowledge in subject area

Specialized terminology but not as technical as a scholarly journal

Article Layout

Structured; Includes authors’ credentials, article abstract, goals and objectives, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and bibliography.

Usually peer reviewed.

Informal; evidence is drawn from personal experience or common knowledge.

 

Not peer reviewed; evaluated by editorial staff.

References

Required. Quotes and facts are used to support research.

Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required.

 

Please note that a video tutorial outlining the difference between scholarly, popular, and trade journals is available here.

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