Popular Publications

These publications are written for a general audience. Topics covered are current events, entertainment, and other issues. Articles are usually written by journalists or freelance writers. Articles do not include references to sources used. Most newspapers are popular publications.

Example: Time

Example: Burlington Free Press

Substantive, Trade, & Professional Publications

Substantive Publications offer somewhat more in depth coverage of news and current events/issues than popular titles. Often they are devoted to a particular topic. These publications are targeted at people who have no specialized training in an area but who want more analysis than a popular publication can offer. The authors are a mix of journalists and people who work in a field. Professional Journals are publications that are written for practitioners in a field.

Example: Scientific American

Professional Journals or "Trade Publications" are written for a specific audience or field.  They do NOT publish original peer-reviewed research, although they will often refer to original research and scholarship from scholarly publication.  Phrases like "Researchers have found ...."  or "in a recent study....." generally introduce the scholarship published elsewhere.

Example:  Education Week

Scholarly Publications

(also known as academic, refereed or peer-reviewed)

In depth research for a research or academic audience. Authors are researchers or scholars in the discipline. These articles usually include a discussion of the research methods, data, and full references to sources (footnotes). Articles are written for other researchers, scholars, and students specializing in the field. Usually the topics covered are very specialized.

Example: Nature

Example: Rice