Scholarly Journals

Magazines

Trade Journals

Written for

Professors and students

General public

Workers in a specific industry

Written by

Scholars, name and credentials always provided

Professional writers

Professional writers and industry experts

Looks like

Serious and sober with few colors

Glossy with advertisements

Glossy with industry specific advertisements

Content

Written in technical and scholarly language and articles are usually at least 10 pages in length

Content might be fact, but might be anecdote or opinion and articles are usually under 10 pages in length

Content is a mixture of fact, anecdote and opinion and articles are usually under 10 pages in length

Format

Articles are usually more structured, may include these sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography

Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure

Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure

Credits

A bibliography (works cited) and/or footnotes are always provided to document research thoroughly

Articles almost never have bibliographies

Some articles might have bibliographies

Example

American Journal of Public Health

Hastings Center Report

JAMA

JOGNN

Journal of Gerontological Nursing

Journal of Pediatric Nursing

Nursing Research

Lancet

New England Journal of Medicine

Newsweek

Prevention

Time

American Family Physician

American Journal of Nursing

Geriatrics

MCN

Nursing

Nursing Outlook

RN Magazine