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Flex Nursing BSN

Research databases and tutorials for Flex Nursing students.

Introduction

Purpose:

This page will help you understand the difference between different types of nursing articles. By watching the video and engaging in practice activities, you will learn key attributes of scholarly, professional and popular resources and when it is appropriate to employ each of type of nursing article.

Knowledge and skills:

By reviewing the content on this page you will be able to

  • Explain the difference between different types of sources
  • Identify hallmarks of each source type
  • Apply the use of different source types in appropriate situations

Peer-Reviewed vs Professional Journals

Dr. Veronica Foster. (December 26, 2022). Peer-Reviewed vs Professional Journals [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/8s2jvPh-kw0

Source Types- how do they differ?

 

photo of trade journals

Trade Journals

*Sometimes called Professional Journals or Industry Journals

These articles are good to keep people in a particular field of work or trade (veterinarians, police officers, hotel managers, teachers, librarians, advertisers...etc.) up-to-date on trends in their line of work.  Articles often summarize and analyze findings from scholarly research.

Appearance: 
  • Generally attractive and are often illustrated with color photographs
Audience:
  • Written for industry professionals.
Author/Authority:
  • Articles written by staff writers, though the magazine may sometimes accept articles from industry professionals.
Citations:
  • Occasionally list references at the end of the article or provide footnotes within the text.
Content:
  • Includes current events and special features within a particular profession or industry.
Frequency:
  • Usually published biweekly or monthly.      

a photo of some print journals

Scholarly journals

*Sometimes called Scholarly, Academic, Peer-reviewed or Refereed

These articles are good to find results of scientific or academic research.  They are written for scholars and provide in-depth analysis of a very specific area of your topic 

Appearance: 
  • Generally have a sober, serious look. May contain graphs and charts, but few glossy pages or photographs. Use scholarly language with vocabulary specific to their profession or field. May often have headings in article such as "literature review" "methods" "results" and "discussion." 
Audience:
  • Written for academics and professionals.
Author/Authority:
  • Articles written by researchers or scholars in the field who report the results of original research.
Citations:
  • Articles include footnotes and a list of citations at the end of the article.
Content:
  • Includes scholarly research for a particular profession or industry.
Frequency:
  • Usually published bimonthly or quarterly.