Magazines and journals are called periodicals because they are issued on a regular or "periodic" basis (usually more frequently than once a year.) Periodicals are usually separated into three major groups: popular, scholarly/research, and trade/professional. If you are able to recognize the differences between a popular, scholarly/research, and trade/professional source, you can focus your research to retrieve only the type of articles you need.

The follow pages to the tutorial will provide a more indepth explanation of the differences between magazine and journal articles. Click on "cheat" sheet for a quick summary of popular vs. scholarly articles.