Scholarly Journal

Popular Magazine

Content

Detailed report of original research or experiment.

Secondary report or discussion of research or experiment that may include personal narrative, opinion, anecdotes.

Author

Author’s credentials are given; usually a scholar with subject expertise.

Author may or may not be named; often a professional writer; may or may not have subject expertise.

Audience

Scholars, researchers, students.

General public; the interested non-specialist.

Language

Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires prior knowledge

Vocabulary in general usage; i.e., understandable to most readers.

Layout/Organization

Highly structured organization: an abstract of the article, the objective of the experiment, the methodology, the results, an analysis of the results, a conclusion and a bibliography; may include charts and graphs, but rarely photographs.

Informal organization: eye-catching type and formatting, usually includes illustrations or photographs. May not intend to present an idea with supporting evidence or come to a conclusion.

References/Bibliography

Required. All quotes and facts can be verified.

Rare. Scanty, if any, information about sources.

Examples

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, American Anthropologist. Almost anything with Journal in the title. Usually come with memberships in scholarly societies and are only available in libraries, not stores.

National Geographic, Discover, news magazines. Almost anything available in a store.