What is the difference between an article from a popular magazine and one from a scholarly or peer reviewed journal?

Popular articles usually appear in magazines and are often intended for a general audience. They use language easily understood by readers, seldom give citations for sources or bibliographies, and are shorter than scholarly journal articles. They are useful for background research and gathering information about a topic.

Scholarly articles are written by and for faculty, researchers or scholars and are often presenting original research. They use scholarly or technical language, include full citations for sources, and tend to be longer than popular articles. They are peer-reviewed and approved by groups of people with recognized expertise in the field.

Please view Peabody Library's Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals tutorial on YouTube for more information.

If you need further assistance, please Ask a Librarian or consult the library you need.