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Accounting
Scholarly vs. Trade Journals
Scholarly articles vs. trade publication articles
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"Scholarly articles" are published in journals specializing in this type of research (academic, professional associations, institutes, governmental bodies, or research arms of NGOs).
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Trade publication articles are written for practitioners in an industry to report current developments in the field or to tell readers "how to do it."
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Trade publication articles frequently "cover the waterfront" of a subject. The focus is broad, but the article can scope down to a subtopic as well. These articles are good for obtaining a global view, but may not be suitable to cite in your research paper.
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Scholarly articles frequently cover a narrow subtopic. If your focus is broad, then you may find that scholarly articles go from one narrow focus to an unrelated narrow focus. You may want to see what the trade publications are saying about the subject before you scope down to the scholarly articles.
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Scholarly articles generally appear in journals associated with an academic department and will contain cited references and a bibliography. Usually there is a peer review process (an editorial board) that determines what manuscripts are to be accepted.
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Articles in trade publications often do not contain citations although the text may refer to a source without citing it.
Don't Guess! Here's how to examine your article to find out whether it's in a scholarly or trade publication
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Open a separate browser window to follow these steps.
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Have your euid and password handy, then click on Ulrichsweb.
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In the quick search box, change the drop down to Title exact and type in the title of the publication that contains your article, then click search.
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Click the result that matches your title.
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Note the type of publication under the heading, Document Type.
Need Help?
The UNT Libraries Government Documents staff is happy to answer your questions! Visit us on the 3rd Floor of Willis Library Government Documents Department, or call us at (940) 565-2870, or email us!
