Scholarly vs. Popular vs. Trade Journals
Information on a topic can be aimed at many levels of readership. For example, articles on West Nile Disease could be written to inform the general public (Newsweek), to provide guidelines for containment for public health workers (American Journal of Public Health), or to provide nursing staff with information on treating patients (American Journal of Nursing). See Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals in the START Tutorial for more ways of determining the types of periodicals and their audience.
Scholarly and Professional Journals
These journals are intended for scholars, researchers, professionals who work in the field, and students who are studying the field. Sober and professional looking, these publications
generally do not feature advertising. Often published by professional societies and organizations, these journals may feature book review sections, technical articles with special jargon
and terminology. Articles often contain charts, graphs, and tables of data. Reports of primary research usually appear in scholarly and professional journals, although highly theoretical
articles also appear. Virtually all articles feature some type of documentation, including footnotes, references, and bibliographies, all of which clearly detail sources of information.
Many scholarly and professional journals additionally require that submitted articles are to be "peer-reviewed"; that is, articles are "to be evaluated and recommended by
selected, anonymous reviewers before being accepted for publication."
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How can you determine if a journal is a peer-reviewed or refereed publication?
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Keep in mind that a serial publication is not necessarily a scholarly or professional serial simply because the word "journal" appears in the title of the publication. It is necessary to evaluate all characteristics of a publication in order to determine its classification.
Trade Journals
Trade journals are intended for practitioners in the field who need practical, up-to-date, application-oriented information. Usually featuring a professional, but attractive, and heavily- illustrated format, trade journals feature articles written in the technical work language of the practitioner. Photographs, illustrations, and color graphics are common. Documentation (e.g., footnote, references) tend to be rare. Advertising is generally prevalent. Industry news and job advertisements are also common. Trade journals are often a valuable and useful source of information in nursing. However, articles from trade journals should be used with care: it is important to consider the completeness of information in a trade journal article; it is also necessary to evaluate the article for any potential bias based on the editorial focus of the publication.
Well-Produced General Interest Serials
Aimed at the "lay market" that prefers "well-illustrated and clearly written articles," articles in these publications additionally are written at a level suitable for an educated audience. Articles are usually written by professional staff, experienced free-lance writers, and even scholars and professional experts in a field. Some articles may contain documentation. Advertising is common. These serials may also be a useful source of credible information for the nursing student.
Popular Magazines
Featuring a glossy and attractive format, heavily illustrated with photographs, drawings, charts and other visual material, popular magazines are intended for the general public. Articles tend to be short. Written in a simple language in order to reach a broad audience, articles do not feature documentation. Popular magazines may be used in support of work in the nursing program, but they should be used with care, and all information should be evaluated.
Newspapers
Essentially devoted to the dissemination of news, current events, articles of opinion, feature articles, and advertising, newspapers are published on a daily or weekly basis, or on some other short-term schedule. As with popular magazines, newspapers may be employed in support of work in the nursing program, but they should be used with care, and all information should be evaluated.
Library Research in the Nursing Program
When doing library research, it's a good idea to search for articles in scholarly and professional journals. Articles in these journals are often refereed. In addition, many of these articles feature lengthy bibliographies and reference lists. This is a quick and easy method of building up a bibliography.
Another effective way of searching for good articles is to follow the citation network. This can be fairly easy to do in today's networked environment. To follow the citation network, do the following:
- When you locate an article that you like or that interests you, search to see who else cites the article. Chances are that articles which cite the original article will also be of interest to you. This can easily be done in Google Scholar by searching for the article title in quotation marks.
- You can also search by author. Once again, when you locate an article that interests you, search on the author's name. The author may be an expert, and may have written additional articles on the subject. This is best done in a professional database, but you can also try Google Scholar.
- Below are ten scholarly, trade, and professional journals from our collection that publish articles on nursing topics.
| American Journal of Nursing | RT1 .A5 |
| Nursing | RT1 .N76 |
| RN | RT1 .R2 |
| Nursing Management | RT89 .S87 |
| Nursing Clinics of North America | RT1 .N77 |
| Journal of Nursing Administration | RT89 .J65 |
| Nursing Research | RT1 .N8 |
| MCN (American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing) | RG951 .M13 |
| Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services | RC440 .J65 |
| Nursing Outlook | RT1 .N273 |