Academic Journals

At the heart of any empirical research, academic journals are the foundation upon which any valid and reliable argument is based. So, what really is an academic journal as opposed to some other secondary sources. Simon and Fraser University Library (2015) presents a clear and deliberate resource that highlights selected aspects of academic journals for consideration. Please review.

Examples:

• American Journal of Criminal Justice
• American Journal of Evaluation
• American Journal of Psychology
• American Journal of Sociology
• Canadian Journal of Women and the Law
• Children and Youth Services Review
• Crime, Media, Culture
• Deviant Behavior
• Ethics and Justice
• Evaluation and Program Planning
• Feminist Theory
• Gender & Society
• Human Rights Quaterly
• Journal of Black Studies
• Journal of Emotional Abuse
• Journal of Financial Crime
• Law and Inequality
• Philosophy and Public Affairs
• Victimology
• Yale Journal of Law & Feminism

Definitions

• Serials
  • Is the broad term for any publication issued periodically, including newspapers, journals, magazines, annuals, numbered monographic series and the proceedings, transactions and memoirs of societies.
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• Periodicals
  • All periodicals are serials, but are publications issued at regular intervals (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) and are intended to continue indefinitely
  • Include newspapers, magazines, journals, and trade publications
• Scholarly journal
  • Also called academic journal or very often peer-reviewed journal. Includes original research articles, written by researchers and experts in a particular academic discipline.
• Peer-reviewed journal
  • Also known as scholarly journal, or academic journal, or refereed journal. Publishes only original research articles that are subjected to a rigorous evaluation through the peer-review process.
  • The majority of scholarly journals go through the peer-review process, although there are some that are scholarly and non-peer reviewed, such as Journal of financial econometrics.
•  Peer-review process
  • Also known as the referee process
  • An editorial board asks subject experts to review and evaluate submitted articles before accepting them for publication in a scholarly journal
  • Submissions are evaluated using criteria including the excellence, novelty and significance of the research or ideas
  • Scholarly journals use this process to protect and maintain the quality of material they publish
  • Members of the editorial board are listed near the beginning of each journal issue
• Primary sources
  • Provide firsthand information in the original words of the creator or eye witness
  • Include creative works, for example: poetry, drama, novels, music, art, films
  • Include original documents, for example: interviews, diaries, speeches, letters, minutes, film footage, oral histoires, manuscripts
  • Include reports of original research and ideas, for example: statistical data, case studies, conference papers, technical reports and research papers published in scholarly journals
  • For more information, see Primary vs. Secondary Sources in Humanities and in Sciences, from the BMCC Library.
•  Secondary Sources
  • Provide information reviewing, evaluating, analyzing or interpreting primary sources
  • Include criticism and interpretation of creative works
  • Include interpretations of original documents, for example: biographies, historical analyses, textbooks and encyclopedia articles
  • Include summaries and reviews of scholarly findings, for example review articles, textbooks, encyclopedia articles and both scholarly journal and popular magazine articles
• Review articles
  • Are secondary sources that report and summarize other authors' works on a given subject
  • Are a useful overview tool; they provide a summary of recent research on a particular subject
  • Review articles are not considered research articles
• Research Articles
  • Articles describing new research or ideas
  • Written in a formal manner that includes background information, methods used, results/interpretation and significance
• Open Access (OA) Journals
  • Journals that are freely available online - this term specifically refers to free scholarly journals
  • Examples: Northwest Journal of Linguistics, Current Issues in Education

  

Know the differences: Scholarly Journals, Magazines, and Trade Publications

The table below provides a quick comparison between scholarly journals, magazines, and trade publications:

	Scholarly Journals	Magazines	Trade Publications
Authors	Academics and experts in the discipline or field who are always identified	Professional writers, not necessarily experts; writers are not always identified	Industry experts, professionals, or practitioners who are not always identified
Purpose	Facilitate scholarly communication between members of a particular academic discipline and/or the public	Provide general information and entertainment to a broad audience	Provide information to members of a particular industry or profession
Content Description	Extensive research articles and analysis written in formal academic styles; some of these types of articles can be considered primary sources May include scholarly review articles or news sections which briefly report on new research; these are not research articles  Plain covers, and generally more charts, graphs, and illustrations than photographs; sometimes advertising Often have the word "journal" in the title Information is always specific to a particular academic discipline or field, and usually requires professional or academic knowledge to be fully understood	General interest articles that can include a mixture of fact, anecdote, and/or opinion Glossy covers, many pictures, extensive use of colour images, and usually much advertising Often called "popular magazines" No special vocabulary or knowledge is generally required to understand	Exclusively professional, industry, or trade information Articles can be fact, anecdote, and/or opinion. Usually have colourful covers, and quite often advertising specific to the profession, trade, or industry Often require professional knowledge and vocabulary to be fully understood
Publishers	Academic organisations	Commercial publishers	Usually professional and trade organisations
Citations, footnotes/endnotes, and/or bibliographies	Always	Usually none	Sometimes
Peer Reviewed	Almost always Editorial board members are listed in each journal issue, and/or on the journal's website.	No	Very rarely
Format	Print and electronic	Print and electronic	Print and electronic
How to Access	Paid subscriptions to print or electronic versions Electronic versions are usually accessed through subscriptiondatabases Sometimes available online free of charge as Open Access journals or through Google Scholar	Paid subscriptions to print or electronic versions Electronic versions are usually accessed through databases, and sometimes through the magazine's website	Paid subscriptions to print or electronic versions Electronic versions are usually accessed through business databases, and sometimes through websites
Examples of subscription publications	Canadian Journal of History The Linguistic Review Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Biomechanics	Maclean's National Geographic Psychology Today Sport's Illustrated Scientific American	Canadian Banker Food in Canada Sight and Sound
Examples of Open Accesspublications	Northwest Journal of Linguistics Current Issues in Education

 Another way of determining what kind of serial publication you are using is Verifying Journal types with Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

Reference

Simon and Fraser University Library (2015) retrieved from http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/publication-types/scholarly-journals on May 19, 2015