Clues to Use

Can I tell from a Citation if a Periodical is Scholarly or Popular?

You may be able to make some educated guesses. Remember, these are only clues – you can really only tell whether a periodical is popular or scholarly if you examine the periodical itself. But you can use some pretty strong clues…

 

Popular

Scholarly

Number of Authors

Fewer authors

Frequently several authors

Length of Article

Shorter articles

Frequently longer articles

Article title

Catchy titles
Everyday language

Descriptive titles
Specialized or technical language

Periodical title

Frequently one word

May have the following words:
    Journal
    Review
    Quarterly

Frequency

Weekly or monthly:
May 25, 1999 or May 2000

Usually quarterly or monthly:
Spring 1997 or January 1998

Next Step:
Go to the periodicals themselves, and examine them using the blue "What Kind of Periodical Is It?" handout.

Still can't tell the difference? Try these:

Judith Faust is responsible for this web page.
Last updated: 05/07/02