ENGL 321 (Arduini)

Scholarly and Trade Journals

Scholarly Journals contain research articles directed at professionals within the field. Sources used in articles are cited through footnotes or a bibliography. Scholarly Journals are usually peer-reviewed.

Trade Journals contain articles directed at professionals within the field. Articles are usually about trends or controversial issues within the profession. They are usually shorter than articles found in Scholarly Journals and may not have source citations. Trade Journals are likely not peer-reviewed.

Once you have found articles on a topic (see the Finding Articles tab in this course guide), you can determine whether the source journal is Scholarly or Trade by visiting the Web page for a journal (using a Google search) to find characteristics for that journal. You can also look up journals on the library homepage by clicking on the Journals tab and then on Journal Search.

As an example, I have searched for the Journal of Nursing and Health. From the results list, I can see that the Journal of Nursing and Health is peer-reviewed, which is a prime indicator that the journal is a Scholarly Journal. I can also click on Available Online to find more information on the journal as well as to view more articles that have been published in that journal.