Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals

Journals and magazines are important sources for up-to-date information in all disciplines. With a periodical collection as large and diverse asCornell's it is often difficult to distinguish between the various levels of scholarship found in the collection. In this guide we have divided the criteriafor periodical literature into four categories:

• Scholarly
• Substantive News/General Interest
• Popular
• Sensational

DEFINITIONS:

Websters Third International Dictionary defines scholarly as:

1) concerned with academic study, especially research,

2) exhibiting the methods and attitudes of a scholar, and

3) having the manner and appearance of a scholar.

Substantive is defined as having a solid base, being substantial.

Popular means fit for, or reflecting the taste and intelligence of, the people at large.

Sensational is defined as arousing or intending to arouse strong curiosity, interest or reaction.

Keeping these definitions in mind, and realizing that none of the lines drawn between types of journals can ever be totally clear cut, the general criteria are as follows.

SCHOLARLY

Scholarly journals generally have a sober, serious look. They oftencontain many graphs and charts but few glossy pages or exciting pictures.

Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form offootnotes or bibliographies.

Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has doneresearch in the field.

The language of scholarly journals is that of the discipline covered. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader.

The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world.

Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specificprofessional organization.

EXAMPLES OF SCHOLARLY JOURNALS:

Journal of Marriage and the Family(published by the National Council on Family Relations)

SUBSTANTIVE NEWS OR GENERAL INTEREST

These periodicals may be quite attractive in appearance, although some are in newspaper format. Articles are often heavily illustrated, generallywith photographs.

News and general interest periodicals sometimes cite sources, though more often do not.

Articles may be written by a member of the editorial staff, a scholar or afree 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 or individuals, 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.

EXAMPLES OF SUBSTANTIVE NEWS OR GENERAL INTEREST PERIODICALS:

POPULAR

Popular periodicals come in many formats, although often somewhat slick and attractive in appearance. Lots of graphics (photographs, drawings,etc.).

These publications rarely, if ever, cite sources. Information publishedin such journals is often second or third hand and the original source is sometimes obscure.

Articles are usually very short, written in simple language and are designed to meet a minimal education level. There is generally little depth to the content of these articles.

The main purpose of popular periodicals is to entertain the reader, to sell products (their own or their advertisers), and/or to promote a viewpoint.

EXAMPLES OF POPULAR PERIODICALS:

SENSATIONAL

Sensational periodicals come in a variety of styles, but often use a newspaper format.

Their language is elementary and occasionally inflamatory or sensational. They assume a certain gullibility in their audience.

The main purpose of sensational magazines seems to be to arouse curiosity and to cater to popular superstitions. They often do so with flashyheadlines designed to astonish (e.g. Half-man Half-woman Makes Self Pregnant ).

EXAMPLES OF SENSATIONAL PERIODICALS:

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON INDIVIDUAL PERIODICAL TITLES

There are reference books which describe and evaluate periodicals. For evaluations of specific periodicals, use:

Katz, Bill, and Linda Sternberg Katz. Magazines for Libraries. 8th ed. New York: Bowker, 1995.

(Uris Ref Z 6941 K21 1995; also Olin)

" ...an annotated listing by subject of some 6,500 periodicals." (Preface.) Each entry gives name of periodical, beginning publication date, publisher, editor, address, price and such information as indexing, size, and level of audience. Short abstracts describe the scope, political slant, and other aspects of the publication. Arrangement is topical, bringing magazines and journals on like subjects together. To find an individual title, use the title index at the end of the volume.

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