Periodicals are publications which is distributed on a regular basis, such as a journal, magazine, newspaper, or newsletter. These publications vary widely in their characteristics, intended audience and purpose.
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Newspapers Newspapers are periodicals issued at frequent intervals (usually daily, semi-weekly or weekly). |
Magazines Magazines are periodicals that inform readers about issues of common interest to the general public. |
Professional/Trade Publications (considered scholarly) Trade publications contain articles by people working in a particular field of study. |
Scholarly Journals Scholarly journal articles typically convey sophisticated and advanced knowledge. A scholarly publication is often but not always peer-reviewed. |
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Authors |
are usually journalists or freelance writers |
are usually journalists or freelance writers |
can be professionals in the field of journalists working for the publisher. | are experts (professors, scholars, researchers) in a given field |
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Content/Language |
can include local, national and international news, and is intended for a general audience |
includes news and general interest articles; language is simple | includes industry trends, new products or techniques and discipline-specific news; will include some industry-specific terms | tends to be highly specialized and includes individual research projects, methodology and theory; may undergo a peer-review process and assumes the reader has some scholarly knowledge |
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Appearance |
includes illustrations and pictures, advertising is very apparent |
includes colors, illustrations and photographs; advertising is very apparent |
contains pictures and illustrations relevant to the profession; advertising is geared specifically towards professionals within the discipline | contains very few graphics except those that link directly to text; advertising is minimal |
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Sources |
may or may not be cited--if the article is investigative reporting some sources are usually cited |
are rarely cited--and the original source is sometimes obscure | may or may not be cited (oftentimes they are cited within a few articles but not all of them) | are always cited (although they may be cited in a style other than APA) |
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Publishers |
are usually commercial enterprises or individuals |
are often commercial enterprises | include professional organizations and some commercial enterprises | are often research organizations or universities |
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Examples |
New York Times, Wall Street Journal | Newsweek, Time | Chronicle of Higher Education, Science Teacher | Leadership Quarterly, Computers in Human Behavior |
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Sample Access Tools |
InfoTrac Newsstand |
Academic Search Complete |
JSTOR |
are specialized disciplinary databases including databases such Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full-Text |