| Criteria | Popular Publication (Newspaper or Magazine) | Trade Publication | Scholarly Publication |
| Content | Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal narrative or opinion; general information, purpose is to entertain or inform. | Current news, trends and products in a specific industry. Written for professionals working in the field or industry. | In-depth, original findings written by a researcher. |
| Advertisements | A lot | A lot | None |
| Authorship | Author is usually a paid journalist | Author is usually a paid journalist with subject expertise. | Author is usually a scholar or specialist with subject expertise. Author is not paid. |
| Audience | General public; the interested non-specialist. | Professionals in the field; the interested non-specialist. | Scholars, researchers, and students. |
| Languages | Vocabulary in general usage; easily understandable to most readers. | Specialized terminology or jargon of the field, but not as technical as a scholarly journal. | Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires expertise in subject area. |
| Images | Many glossy advertisements and photographs. | Photographs; some graphics and charts; advertisements targeted to professionals in the field. | No images, but mostly graphs, charts, and tables |
| Review | Articles are evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field; edited for format and style. | Articles are evaluated by editorial staff who may be experts in the field, not peer-reviewed*; edited for format and style. | Articles are evaluated by peer-reviewers* or referees who are experts in the field; edited for content, format, and style. |
| References | No references. Not research driven | Few references, but sometimes none. | Quotes and facts are verifiable with references. Articles are research driven. |
| Page length | 1-3 pages | 3-5 pages | 10-20 pages |
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