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Art History

Periodicals

Magazines, Journals, Periodicals, what's the difference? 

Magazines, journals and periodicals are sometimes used interchangeably, but generally, periodicals refer to all publications which occur at regular intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly) or periodically. In other words, magazines, journals, newspapers and newsletters may all be considered as periodicals.

Magazines tend to be aimed at more general audiences, and may have content of a general (news, current affairs) or specific (fashion, health, interior design) interest. Magazine content tends to include articles produced by paid writers and advertisements and may be printed on glossy paper with lots of imagery.

Journals, often referred to as academic or scholarly journals, tend to be aimed at an audience of researchers or scholars. Academic journals may also be peer-reviewed, which means the articles published in them have gone through a usually lengthy process which includes scrutiny by a group of peers or experts in relevant fields.