Journals/Magazines Comparison


	August 28th 2008 \| Complete Hours W.E.B. Du Bois Library • 8:00 am - 7:00 pm Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library (ISEL) • 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Learning Commons • 8:00 am - 7:00 pm

UMass Libraries > Instruction and Information Literacy > Library Research Tutorials > Finding Articles

Article Contents

  1. periodicals & articles
  2. journals & magazines
  3. choosing a database
  4. searching an index
  5. subject search
  6. keyword search
  7. locating an article
  8. citing an article
  9. finding articles activity

A Comparison of Journals and Magazines

If your instructor says you need to find scholarly information for your paper, you should choose an academic journal rather than a popular magazine. What's the difference?

Journal Articles

Discuss research in detail
Include a substantial bibliography
Written for and by scholars (usually by college professors)
Usually "peer reviewed" or "refereed" (approved by an editorial board of experts in the field)

image of journal covers

Magazine Articles

About more popular subjects
More informal in style
For the general public
Written by journalists and staff writers
Don't usually include a bibliography

Confused about the difference between journal articles and magazines? Here's a nice chart that lays out the differences: Scholarly Journal v. Popular Magazine Article.