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Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals

A Checklist of Criteria

Purposes of Periodical Literature

Periodical literature has a variety of purposes.  Sometimes, its purpose may be to present general information to a wide audience of readers; other times its purpose may be to communicate sophisticated insights to academic specialists.  Often, you might find it difficult to make distinctions among the levels of complexity of periodicals that result from differing purposes.  This guide gives you three levels of complexity -- or three types -- of periodical literature: scholarly or professional, substantive news or general interest, and popular. 

Source of Content

Used with the permission of:

Research & Learning Services
Olin Library
Cornell University Library
Ithica, NY, USA