Is published in a regular frequency, often monthly
Identifies its parts by volume numbers (typically, all issues published in one year have the same volume number), and individual issue numbers (for example: volume 12, number 2)
Contains articles on topics related to the journal's focus, and sometimes book reviews and editorials
Has very little advertising, and those few advertisements are for other scholarly publications
This interactive web page, from North Carolina State University Library, highlights the various parts of a scholarly journal article.
About Journal Articles
Journal articles
Are written by academics and professionals who are specialists in their fields
Are used to communicate new ideas and theories, and the results of current research
Are much narrower in focus than books
Are written in scholarly, often technical language
Are often longer than magazine articles
Provide references to other sources of information, which may include books, journal articles, web resources, and/or interviews
About Peer Review
Many scholarly articles are peer-reviewed. That is, they are scrutinized by other experts in the fields before being approved for publication. To learn more about scholary and peer-reviewed sources, see the library's other guide:
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