TOPIC: How to Identify Scholarly Sources: Journals & Periodicals

• These periodicals may be quite attractive in appearance, although some are in newspaper format
• Articles are often heavily illustrated, generally with photographs
• News and opinion & interest periodicals sometimes cite sources, though more often they do not
• Articles may be written by a member of the editorial staff, a scholar or a free lance writer
• The language of these publications is geared to any educated audience. There is no specialty assumed, only interest and a certain level of intelligence
• They are generally published by commercial enterprises, although some emanate from specific professional organizations
• The main purpose of periodicals in this category is to provide information, in a general manner, to a broad audience of concerned citizens and are intended for the educated reader, but not necessarily the scholar
• Trade magazines are written by practitioners for peers working in the same industry or profession
• Trade magazines will include graphics and related product advertising
• Trade magazines are useful for profession or industry news, related government regulations, market data, product development information, employment opportunities, and calendars of related events
• Opinion magazines contain opinions or viewpoints on cultural or political affairs, often with particular bias
• Opinion magazines are useful for comparing points of view
• All are somewhere between popular and scholarly periodicals

Economist

New York Times

Newsweek

Psychology Today

Beverage World

New Republic

US News

Architectural Digest

You probably haven't ever run across Global Cosmetic Industry or Ink World at an airport kiosk. That's because they have very narrow appeal, targeting particular industries.  They provide news about new products and processes, conferences and trade shows, and companies. Sometimes these are the only source of information about recent developments in business and industry.