| Authorship | Journalists, staff writers, non-specialists, credentials not included |
| Audience | General audience |
| Language | Non-technical language for a general audience |
| Length/Structure | Tend to be shorter in length; no specific format or structure; provide broad overviews of a topic; secondary review of other people's work |
| Special Features | Glossy, full-color photos, illustrations, advertising for a general audience |
| Editors | Articles not evaluated by experts in the field; reviewed by editorial staff |
| Credits/References | Bibliography or works cited list not usually included but sources may be identified within article |
| Authorship | Researchers, scientists, experts in the field; credentials included in article, including advanced academic degrees (Ph.D., J.D., M.D., Ed.D., etc.) |
| Audience | Scholars, professors, other experts |
| Language | Jargon of the discipline written for scholarly audience with insider knowledge |
| Length/Structure | Longer articles with in-depth analysis, highly structured with multiple sections (abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, discussion, conclusion, references); primary research |
| Special Features | Illustrations that support the text, including graphs, charts, tables. Little or no advertising. Rarely glossy. |
| Editors | Editorial boards comprised of experts in the discipline; articles are critically reviewed by a panel of peers to assess validity of research method, analysis, and conclusions |
| Credits/References | Comprehensive citation or resource lists, in-text citations |
| Authorship | Knowledgeable insiders writing for other professionals in the industry |
| Audience | Industry professionals |
| Language | Industry specific but more general than scholarly |
| Length/Structure | Vary in length but typically shorter than scholarly articles; current trends and news |
| Special Features | Glossy with full-color photos and illustrations; advertising geared to industry professionals |
| Editors | Editorial staff review; not peer-reviewed |
| Credits/References | Bibliography or works cited list not usually included |
