| | POPULAR | SCHOLARLY | PROFESSIONAL |
|---|
| Purpose |
To inform and entertain the general reader |
To communicate research and scholarly ideas |
To apply information; to provide professional support |
| Audience |
General public |
Other scholars, students |
Practitioners in the field, professionals |
| Coverage |
Broad variety of public interest topics, cross disciplinary |
Very narrow and specific subjects |
Information relevant to field and members of a group |
| Publisher |
Commercial |
Professional associations; academic institutions; and many commercial publishers |
Professional, occupational, or trade group |
| Writers |
Employees of the publication, freelancers (including journalists and scholars) |
Scholars, researchers, experts, usually listed with their institutional affiliation |
Members of the profession, journalists, researchers, scholars |
| Characteristics |
- Little technical language or jargon
- Few or no cited references
- Absence of bibliographies
- General summaries of background information
- Contain numerous advertisements
- Articles are usually brief; between 1-7 pages
|
- Little or no background information given
- Technical language and discipline- specific jargon
- PEER REVIEW, editorial board
- Bibliographies included
- Procedures and materials often described in detail
- Articles are longer, often over 5 pages
|
- Application of new technology
- Employment issues
- Practitioners viewpoint
- Technical language used
- Interpretation of research trends and issues
- Articles are usually brief; between 1-7 pages
- Contain advertisements
|
| Frequency |
Frequent, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis |
Less frequent, on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis |
Frequent, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis |
| Examples |
Time, US News and World Report, Modern Healthcare |
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome |
Institute of Transportation Engineers Journal |
