| CHARACTERISTICS | Scholarly | Trade | Popular |
| Comparison |  |
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| Purpose | To report results of original research and experimentation | To report industry/trade trends, products, and news | To report current events, opinions, and general information |
| Look | Plain, serious, lengthy articles, may contain charts and graphs to support findings | Glossy, commercial, contains color illustrations/photos, and industry/trade related advertisements | Glossy, attractive, contains color illustrations/photos, and everyday product advertisements |
| Author | Scholars and experts in field of study/discipline | Industry specialists or staff writers | Journalists/reporters, staff or freelance writers |
| Audience | Scholars in academic and discipline related fields, researchers, students | Members or those with interest in a particular industry or trade | Anyone |
| Language | Academic and technical | Jargon of the industry | Non-technical, written in a language for anyone to understand |
| Documentation | Heavily cited with footnotes or bibliography | Occasionally contain cited sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies | Sources are rarely cited, although references may be mentioned in text |
This guide is created and licensed by the Hunt Library at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
