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Touro College Libraries

Scholarly, Trade and Popular Materials

In academic research, there is a clear preference for scholarly materials.

Scholarly materials

Scholarly materials have a serious appearance and contain very little advertising. They are written for professors, students, or researchers. They are signed by authors who have expertise or have done research, and who are affiliated with or sponsored by a professional association. The materials follow a format that includes an abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, and references to sources, either in footnotes, endnotes, or bibliographies. They may also include tables, graphs, or illustrations to support the research findings. The materials are reviewed by a board of experts and called "peer-reviewed." They attempt to advance knowledge, and use language that assumes the reader has some knowledge of the discipline.

Trade or professional materials

Trade or professional materials may have a bright cover and contain advertising that appeals to those in the industry or field. They are written to provide information of use to that particular industry or field of study. They are unsigned, follow no specific format, and are reviewed by general editors.

Popular materials

Popular materials may have a bright cover, and contain many glossy picturess and lots of advertising. They are written to attract a broad segment of the population and are usually published commercially. They may be unsigned, or the author may be a scholar, free lance writer, or editor. The materials follow no specific format, sometimes include references to sources, and may include tables, graphs, or illustrations. They have second- or third-hand information, are opinions on a contemporary issue, and attempt to inform/entertain a wide audience of topics of general interest.

Examples

Below are examples of scholarly, trade, and popular materials in different fields of study.

Field of study	Scholarly Journals	Trade Journals	Popular Magazines
Business	Harvard Business Review	International Accountant	Business Week
Education	Educational Researcher	Action in Teacher Education	Education Week
Health Sciences	JAMA	American Family Physician	Prevention
Jewish Studies	Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy	Shomrim News	Moment
Literature	Studies in Short Fiction	James Joyce Journal	New York Times Book Review
Psychology	Psychobiology	Educational Psychologist	Psychology Today

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