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Scholarly Journal of Popular Magazine?
How to Tell the Difference

Characteristics of Academic/Scholarly Journals:

• A.K.A. academic, peer-reviewed, professional.
• Scholarly journals have a serious/professional look. Pictures, graphs, and charts found in the journal are limited and are used by the authors to discuss or provide examples for material in the articles.
• They are usually published by a professional association or organization for purposes of disseminating current information on research and development to the professionals in the field who are already familiar with the subject area.
• They are not intended for the general public and are seldom found at the local newsstand or bookstores.
• They provide scholarly articles that have been submitted to a reviewing board prior before being okayed for publication. (See front inside cover of the journal for a list of the members of the editorial board.)
• Scholarly articles usually provide a lengthy bibliography of cited sources referenced by the authored within the article.
  
  Examples:
  Contemporary Accounting Research, Financial Analysts Journal, Journal of Sport Management, Organization Development Journal.

Characteristics of Popular Magazines:

• Popular magazines are a marketer's delight. They are colorful, attractive, and include many pictures and advertisements, outside of the articles, to catch the reader's eye.
• Articles are written by journalists, professional or free lance writers. They are much shorter in length and written to hold the reader's attention.
• The intended audience is the general public. They are kept simple and entertaining in order to move quickly off of local newsstands.
• Authors rarely tell you where they found the information to write the aricle or cite sources in a bibliography.
  
  Examples:
  Advertising Age, Business Week, Economist, Forbes, Money.