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Nursing - undergraduate: Types of journals
Guide for nursing students at GVSU
what kind of journal is this?
When researching, you will come across a variety of different types of journals. Most journals and magazines fall into one of the following three categories: scholarly, popular, and trade publications. This table will show you how to find out how to tell the difference between these types of journals.
| Scholarly Journals | Popular Journals | Trade Journals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Informs/reports on original research done by scholars and experts in the field. | Entertains and informs a general audience without providing in-depth analysis. | Reports on industry trends, new products or techniques useful to people in a trade or business. |
| Authors | Articles are written by subject specialists and experts in the field. | Articles are written by journalists, freelance writers, or an editorial staff. | Articles are written by specialists in a certain field or industry. |
| Audience | Intended for a limited audience - mainly researchers, scholars, and experts. | Appeals to a broad segment of the population. | Intended for people in a particular profession, business, or industry. |
| Appearance | Simple cover design, few images or ads. May include charts, graphs, data. | Glossy, colorful, many images and lots of advertising. | Often glossy paper; images/advertisements relate to specific field or profession. |
| Article length | Tend to be lengthy, may include original research, in-depth analysis, very specific focus. | Typically brief, from less than 1 page to several pages. | Short to medium length articles. |
| Content | Original research, literary criticism and theory, literature review, in-depth analysis of topic. | Short, feature-length articles, news and general interest topics. | Articles about professional trends, new products or techniques, industry-related news. |
| Writing style | Use terminology, language and jargon relevant to the discipline. | Simple language used, written for general public. | Technical, field-specific language used, assumes reader familiar with industry. |
| References | Articles typically include references, notes, works cited. | Articles typically do not have references. | Articles sometimes have references. |
| Examples |
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Subjects: Nursing
- Last Updated: Apr 18, 2025 7:33 AM
- URL: https://libguides.gvsu.edu/nursing
