"Periodicals" is a general term used to refer to newspapers, magazines and journals (publications that are published "periodically".)
When you use periodical articles in your research, you should evaluate the article by asking questions similar to those you asked when evaluating web pages.

 

Popular Magazines / Newspapers

Academic Journals
(also called Scholarly Journals)

Overall appearance

 magazine  magazine  NY Times

Magazines are usually printed on glossy paper,  include advertisements, & are heavily illustrated, & attractive in appearance
Newspapers are not glossy, but are attractively laid out with plenty of photos, illustrations and advertisements.

    journal   journal  journal

Serious, may contain graphs or charts; no glossy pages, photographs; few or no advertisements

Audience

General Public

Scholars, researchers and students

Authors

Journalists, professional writers; credentials rarely provided

Researchers, scholars, or experts in the field; the article includes their academic credentials

Documentation

Sources may be mentioned in the text of articles; sometimes cited for news articles, but rarely

Cited sources in footnotes or bibliography

Purpose

Provide general information

Report on or review original research or experimentation in narrowly focused discipline or academic subject.

Article Acceptance Procedure

Articles written by hired reporters, edited by magazine or newspaper editors

Often undergo a "peer-review" process -- reviewed by other scholars in the field before being published --sometimes these journals are called "peer-reviewed journals" or "refereed journals"

Examples

MAGAZINES: Time, Newsweek, Psychology Today, Ms., Nation, Popular Science, Life, Sports Illustrated, Commentary, Architectural Digest, The Futurist, Motor Trend, Natural History, Prevention, Sierra, Sunset, Wired

NEWSPAPERS: S.F. Chronicle, N.Y. Times, L.A. Times, Washington Post

New England Journal of Medicine, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Adolescence, American Historical Review, Art History, Counseling Psychologist, Geological Society of America Bulletin, Harvard Law Review, Management Science, Urban Affairs Quarterly, Women's Studies.

 

To find out more about most publications, do a Wikipedia search for the title

 

To find research studies, look for articles in scholarly journals that include the following sections:

    • Method(s): may include "Procedure", "Participants", "Measures"
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Data (usually included in statistical tables at the end of the article)