What's a Periodical?
Periodicals are publicatiions that are issued on a regular, or periodic, interval. Periodicals can be excellent sources of concise, focused articles on current events and social issues. Articles in periodicals typically address a very specific aspect of a larger topic.
Different types of periodicals are suitable for different types of information, and are published at different intervals.
- Newspapers are good sources for coverage of news events, including local, state, national, and world news, and are published daily or weekly.
- Magazines are good sources for articles related to popular culture and social issues, and may be published weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
- Journals are good sources for scholarly research or topics related to specific professions, and may be published montly, bi-monthly. or several times a year.
- Trade Journals are good sources of news and practical information related to specific professions or occupations, and may be published weekly or monthly.
This chart outlines characteristics to help distinguish among types of periodicals:
| Magazines and Newspapers | Scholarly Journals | Trade Journals | |
| Authors | Reporters, journalists | Researchers, scholars in the field | Professionals in the field |
| Purpose | Entertain, persuade, inform | Disseminate research, educate, communicate | Share information in the field |
| Audience | General public | Researchers, experts, students in the field | Professionals and students in the field |
|
Writing Style & Vocabulary |
Simple, easy-to-read, writing and vocabulary |
Sophisticated, high-level writing Technical, discipline-specific vocabulary |
Readable by general population Vocabulary specific to profession |
| Sources | Not cited | Cited with footnotes or bibliography | Generally not cited as scholarly journals are, but references may be given |
| Advertising | Extensive | Announcements for conferences, publications in the field | Specific to products and services in the profession |
| Graphics | Usually photographs accompany articles | Charts, tables, statistical data to support articles | Photographs, charts, data |
| Publishers | Commercial, for-profit | Professional society, university, or non-profit organization | Professional or trade organization, non-profit organization |
| Is it Refereed or Peer-reviewed? | No | Yes, articles must meet rigorous standards and be reviewed by a panel of experts before being accepted for publication | Not a peer-review process, but articles are checked for accuracy before publication |
| Examples |
Parents Newsweek Sports Illustrated New York Times |
Botany Reading Research Quarterly Journal of Marriage and the Family Modern Fiction Studies New England Journal of Medicine |
Advertising Age Law and Order Phi Delta Kappan Training
|
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