Scholarly journals are also called refereed, peer-reviewed or academic journals. Refereed or peer-reviewed journals are those in which submitted work is reviewed by a group of academic peers, scholars or subject matter experts, who must agree that the work submitted is up to scholarly standards before it is published. Scholarly journals are intended for an academic audience. Some examples include Modern Fiction Studies, American Historical Review, Applied Geography, Social Psychology Quarterly and American Economic Review.
Scholarly journals typically share many of these characteristics: They have a more serious outward appearance; articles often include an abstract or summary before the main body; there is little or no advertising; authors are scholars or experts in their fields; sources cited take the form of either footnotes or bibliographies; the author assumes the reader is also a scholar in the field and uses technical language or lingo with that assumption; original work is generally presented to share with others in the same scholarly field; and many are published by professional associations affiliated with the scholarly field.
Magazines are meant to have broad appeal and are constructed with that in mind. Design and layout are critical in creating an appealing magazine. Everything from the advertising to the editorial content is meant to entice, excite and peak the curiosity of the reader. Current events, including social and political issues, as well as the latest hot topics are typically addressed. Examples of magazines include Time, Vogue, Sports Illustrated, National Review, Atlantic Monthly and People.
Magazines typically share many of these characteristics: They are designed to catch your eye with bright, attractive covers that may include photos, graphics or drawings; articles are written by freelance writers or journalists assigned to the magazine and tend to cover a broad array of topics; articles are designed to interest and entertain a broad readership; no bibliography or footnotes are included and sources are often not cited; the language is simple and written for mass consumption, so that any difficult, new or foreign terms are clearly explained so all can understand; advertising is dominant and attractive.