Types of Articles
A vast majority of scholarly works are published in the form of articles 
and are published in sources broadly referred to as periodicals . The focus of your research will depend on what type of periodical and article you will use. The most common types are found in journals, magazines, trade publications, and newspapers. The
range of quality, depth, and reliability among these publications are great.
Journals typically have scholarly or technical articles. Because they disseminate knowledge concerning a specific
discipline, these articles are written for students, researchers,
and scholars. These articles will use the jargon of the discipline, cite sources
of related research, and focus on experimentation, theories, and original research. Examples: Journal
of Research in Personality; Mathematics of
Computation
Magazines are directed toward the general public so the articles are shorter and use more straightforward language. Because they are designed to entertain or
provide general information to a wide audience, most articles rarely
provide footnotes or directly cite sources of information. Examples: Mother Jones (Purdue Access); The New
Republic (Purdue Access); Time (Purdue Access)
Trade Publications
Articles are written for and about professionals in a specific field or profession. These articles help professionals in the field stay up-to-date on new developments, movers & shakers in the industry, and upcoming trends. Examples: AdWeek (Purdue Access); T.H.E. Journal (Purdue Access)
Newspapers
The focus of these articles is to report the facts of an event. The purpose is keep people up-to-date on in hot issues and topics. Because these articles need to be readable by a large population of people, the language is very straightforward and without technical jargon. Examples: New York Times (Purdue Access); Wall Street Journal (Purdue Access)
Learn more about the differences between magazines & journals.