| Purpose |
To share news or entertainment with the reader |
To share original research and scholarly debates with the reader |
| Authors |
Writers usually work for the publication. They are likely journalists or content specialists |
Writers do not work for the publication. They are experts in their field (PhDs, MDs, etc) who likely work for a university or research institution |
| Scope |
Varied topics of interest to a broad audience |
Narrowly focused topics related to the subject of the journal |
| Audience |
Non-experts (general public) |
Experts in a discipline (scholars/students) |
| Other Features |
Articles generally do not cite sources or include bibliographies; Writing is easy to understand for the average person who has no background in the subject; Articles are short (a couple of pages) |
Articles cite sources and include bibliographies; Writing is geared toward readers who have background knowledge of the subject and understand discipline specific jargon; Articles are long (~15-20 pages on average) |
