Skip to Main Content

Computer Science

    Scholarly Journals vs. Popular Magazines: What's the Difference?

Popular Magazines (Time, People, etc.)

Scholarly/Peer Reviewed Journals (JAMA, Science, etc.)

Intended for a general audience.

Intended for an audience with knowledge in the field.

Articles written by journalists who may or may not have special training in what they are writing about.

Articles are written by scholars, whose names are listed along with credentials.

Articles do not have footnotes.

Articles are footnoted and list sources used.

For profit.

Usually not for profit.

Not peer-reviewed.

Peer-reviewed.

How do I find peer-reviewed articles and journals?

Use a scholarly database rather than a general database  (MEDLINE vs. Newspaper Abstracts). When available, limit to scholarly/peer-reviewed journals when you search your database. Check in Ulrichsweb (library database) to see if the journal you want is peer-reviewed.

 

For additional, more detailed help, take a look at the Scholarly and Peer Reviewed Journals subject guide.