Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

Peer Reviewed – articles in peer reviewed journals must pass the scrutiny of reviewers who are experts in the field or on the research topic of the article.

Refereed – articles in refereed journals must be carefully reviewed by scholars or experts in the research topic of the article who are not members of the board or editorial staff of the journal.

• report original research or experimentation;
• are authored by a scholar and/or researcher in the field;
• are primarily geared to a scholarly audience in the field;
• are usually peer reviewed or refereed;
• focus on content rather than advertising;
• cite their sources in the form of footnotes or a bibliography;
• are written in the language of the discipline covered, assuming some scholarly background;
• are published by professional organizations or university presses;
• contain graphs or charts to explain research findings, but are generally are not glossy in appearance.

Examples of scholarly journals include Biophysical Chemistry, Modern Fiction Studies, and American Economic Review.

• cover current trends, news, & products in a field;
• contain articles written by practitioners in the field or journalists with subject expertise;
• are written for practitioners, using the jargon of the discipline;
• be published by professional and trade associations;
• be somewhat glossy, with illustrations of all sorts.

Examples of professional or trade journals include Science Teacher, RN, and Restaurants and Institutions.

• aim at entertaining the reader, selling products, and/or promoting a viewpoint.
• contain articles that are short and written in simple language, void of professional jargon;
• are glossy and contain lots of graphics;
• do not cite their sources - the information is often second or third hand;

Examples of popular magazines include Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and The Economist.

Now that you know more about periodicals, you are ready to search for journal articles...