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ACS 108 Critical Reading and Thinking

Black and white banner image of person looking at periodicals with text ACS article evaluation.

What are Articles and Periodicals?

Articles are pieces of writing shorter than a book and published in periodicals or anthologies. Articles present the most recent published literature on any topic.

Periodicals are publications issued or published on a regular or "periodic" basis. Periodicals are usually separated into four major groups:

  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Trade/professional
  • Scholarly/peer review

If you are able to recognize the differences between these four types of periodicals, you will be able to find the right type of articles for the context of your research needs. 

Periodical Warm-Up Activity

What type of article is this?
Scholarly: 0 votes (0%)
Magazine: 16 votes (100%)
Trade: 0 votes (0%)
Newspaper: 0 votes (0%)
Total Votes: 16
What type of article is this?
Scholarly: 14 votes (46.67%)
Magazine: 13 votes (43.33%)
Trade: 3 votes (10%)
Newspaper: 0 votes (0%)
Total Votes: 30

Types of Periodicals

Newspaper Articles:

  • Author: Journalist, freelance author, or guest contributor

  • Audience: General public

  • Editorial Process: Editors and fact-checkers

  • Frequency: Published daily 

  • Reference List: None

  • Purpose: Inform, Entertain, sometimes Persuade. Many newspapers have a political or philosophical view.

Examples:

  • New York Times
  • Detroit News
  • Washington Post

Magazine Articles:

  • Author: Staff writer, journalist, freelance author, or guest contributor

  • Audience: General public

  • Editorial Process: Editors and fact-checkers

  • Frequency: Published weekly or monthly

  • Reference List: None

  • Purpose: Inform and Entertain, sometimes Persuade.

Examples:

  • Sports Illustrated
  • Time
  • Vogue

Trade/Professional Articles:

  • Author: Professionals in the field

  • Audience: Industry professionals, those seeking employment in the industry, college students

  • Editorial Process: Editors, occasional research articles

  • Frequency: Published weekly or monthly

  • Reference List: Sometimes 

  • Purpose: Inform

Examples: 

  • PT: Magazine of Physical Therapy
  • Welding Journal
  • Police Chief

Scholarly or Peer Reviewed Articles:

  • Author: Highly educated experts in the subject field

  • Audience: Researchers, scholars, professionals, college students

  • Editorial Process: Peer Review - This means that the article is read by recognized experts in the field to look for errors and make recommendations about publishing the article.  

  • Frequency: Published monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually 

  • Reference List: Always included at the end of a scholarly article 

  • Purpose: Inform. Articles are usually reports on scholarly research or case studies.

Examples: 

  • American Journal of Psychology
  • Foreign Affairs
  • JAMA: Journal of American Medical Association

Periodical Case Studies

1. Which type of article should Wanda use as a source in her biology research paper?
Scholarly Journal Article: 8 votes (100%)
Magazine Article: 0 votes (0%)
Newspaper Article: 0 votes (0%)
Total Votes: 8
2. Which type of periodical should Tony use for the latest industry information?
Magazine: 1 votes (12.5%)
Scholarly Journal: 0 votes (0%)
Trade Journal: 7 votes (87.5%)
Total Votes: 8
3. Which of these articles should Sam use for his summary and response paper?
Scholarly Journal Article: 0 votes (0%)
Newspaper Article: 7 votes (100%)
Magazine Article: 0 votes (0%)
Total Votes: 7
4. Which periodical's glossy cover is meant to attract Natasha at the supermarket?
Scholarly Journal: 0 votes (0%)
Trade Journal: 1 votes (14.29%)
Magazine: 6 votes (85.71%)
Total Votes: 7

ACS 108 Evaluating Periodicals Activity

  1. Open the ACS 108 Periodical Activity 
  2. Read and complete each question.
  3. Save the Word Document to your computer and then upload it to your Blackboard site.