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PSY 283: Professor Des Rosiers: Journals vs. Magazines

Developmental Psychology

Peer-Reviewed Journals Segment 15 (01:37)

Scientific journals still flourish today. The British-born system of peer review, wherein experts review findings, makes a scientific journal the best snapshot of our scientific understanding at any given time.  View Video.

Scholarly Journals

AUDIENCE:  Professors, researchers, scholars, students
ADVERTISEMENTS: No advertisements
AUTHOR:  Experts in the field, professionals.
CONTENT & FOCUS:   Original thoughts, ideas,  research, new methodologies.
DOCUMENTATION:  Bibliographies, footnotes.
ILLUSTRATIONS:  Few illustrations, relevant research oriented charts, graphs, and tables.
LANGUAGE:  Specialized formal language.
LENGTH:  Usually quite lengthy, giving in-depth research, theories, analysis.
PUBLICATION FREQUENCY:  Usually published monthly, or quarterly.
EXAMPLES:  Journal of Experimental Psychology; Journal of Mental Health Counseling.

Popular Magazines

AUDIENCE:​ General readers
ADVERTISEMENTS: Several colorful advertisements.
AUTHOR: Journalists, staff writers, usually not experts in the field.
CONTENT & FOCUS: Current events, general interest.
DOCUMENTATION: Very little, if any documentation.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Many colorful eye-catching illustrations.
LANGUAGE: Easy to read.
LENGTH: Usually short to medium, giving overview of topics.
PUBLICATION FREQUENCY: Usually published weekly, or monthly.
EXAMPLES:   Psychology Today; Newsweek; National Geographic; Time.