Scholarly Journal (A.K.A. Professional Journal) Journals such as American Historical Review, New England Journal of Medicine, and Social Psychology Quarterly are all considered scholarly or professional journals. A journal that contains articles and research by scholars and experts in a specific field who wish to share their research with other professionals/scholars. Articles are usually based on original research and contain author credentials, abstracts and bibliographies. Professional associations, Scholarly presses, Universities, or Academic/Research Organizations often publish these journals. The language in a Scholarly Journal tends to be academic and can be very technical often using the language of the discipline. Graphs, charts, and/or formulas can be included as well as graphics but these periodicals usually do not contain glossy ads and/or pictures.
These journals are peer-reviewed and publish original research articles, review articles, and other information of interest to scholars.
Trade Journals (AKA Trade Magazines) such as Automotive News, Home Healthcare Nurse, Teaching Exceptional Children, Library Journal or E Week are not scholarly journals. These magazines are industry specific and designed to keep the practitioner updated in the trends, news and product information for the field. They can offer company, organization and biographical information along with statistics, forecasts employment and career information. Glossy ads (usually topic related) and photos are prevalent.
These publications are written for the criminal justice professional and present the latest news in the field. While they may contain summaries of research studies, they do not normally publish original research articles, and are usually not peer-reviewed.