31 Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals
| Scholarly | Popular | |
| Length | Long articles, providing in-depth analysis of topics | Short articles, providing broad overviews of topics |
| Authorship | Author usually an expert or specialist in the field; name and credentials always provided | Author usually a staff writer or a journalist; name and credentials often not provided |
| Language/Audience | Author uses jargon of the field, which is language familiar to scholarly readers, professors, researchers, or students | Author writes in non-technical language for anyone to understand |
| Format/Structure | Articles usually structured; may include abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography | Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or sturcture. |
| Special Features | Illustrations, such as tables of statistics, graphs, maps, or photographs support the text | Illustrations with glossy or color photographs, usually for advertising purposes |
| Editors | Articles usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (refereed or peer reviewed) | Articles not evaluated by experts in the field, but by editors on staff |
| Credits | A Works Cited or References page and/or footnotes and/or internal citation always provided to document research | A Works Cited or Reference page is usually not provided, although names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text |
Still can’t tell the difference? This library resource can help.
Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory/Available through Databases <lib.utsa.edu>.
