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Types of Periodicals

Uses and features of journals, magazines, and newspapers.

Types of Periodicals

Spectrum from scholarly sources to popular sources, with different types of periodical mediums.

Scholarly Journal Characteristics

  • Reports of original research, theoretical, experimental or applied
  • In-depth analysis of topics
  • Lengthy articles
  • Substantial book reviews
  • Many are refereed/peer-reviewed

First page of Research Article with red arrows pointing to journal title, publication date, volume, issue, authors, and article title.

Screenshot taken from: Jozaghi, E., & Andresen, M. A. (2013). Should North America's first and only supervised injection facility (InSite) be expanded in British Columbia, Canada?. Harm Reduction Journal, 10(1), 1-9. doi:10.1186/1477-7517-10-1

Here are a couple more examples:

  • Written for a college-educated audience
  • Uses the technical vocabulary of the discipline

Screenshot of Section 2.2 Materials.

Screenshot taken from: Gartus, A., Klemer, N., & Leder, H. (2015). The effects of visual context and individual differences on perception and evaluation of modern art and graffiti art. Acta Psychologica, 156: 64-76. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2015.01.005

  • Researchers
  • Academics
  • Scholars

Screenshot with author name, email, and affiliation in red boxes.

Screenshot from: Lianping, T., & Kerr, T. (2014). The impact of harm reduction on HIV and illicit drug use. Harm Reduction Journal, 11(1), 1-5. doi:10.1186/1477-7517-11-7

  • Footnotes & bibliographies
  • Documentation often very extensive

Screenshot of last page of article, Reference List is in red box.

Screenshot taken from: Jozaghi, E., & Andresen, M. A. (2013). Should North America's first and only supervised injection facility (InSite) be expanded in British Columbia, Canada?. Harm Reduction Journal, 10(1), 1-9. doi:10.1186/1477-7517-10-1

  • Professional organizations
  • Universities
  • Research institutes
  • Scholarly presses
  • Graphs, charts & tables
  • Ads are very rare

Screenshot of article page, Table 2 surrounded by red box.

Screenshot taken from: Jozaghi, E., & Andresen, M. A. (2013). Should North America's first and only supervised injection facility (InSite) be expanded in British Columbia, Canada?. Harm Reduction Journal, 10(1), 1-9. doi:10.1186/1477-7517-10-1

Examples of Scholarly Journals

Things to look for:

  1. Clearly named author(s) and title,  (letters to the editor, opinions and newsbriefs are usually not acceptable)
  2. the author's academic credentials,
  3. tables, charts, graphs
  4. and lengthy references at the end.

Also notice there are no ads.

Access Tools (Examples)

Library Links

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