To distinguish scholarly journals from popular magazines and non-scholarly periodicals, there are some characteristics which should be taken under consideration. Some journals may not meet all of the criteria, but accountability and content of the articles are the essentials. They often contain many graphs and charts but few glossy pages or exciting pictures, and few advertisements.
Scholarly journals report on original research or experimentation.
Often, but not always, are published by a scholarly professional association. Articles are lengthly, always cite their sources in the form of footnotes, endnotes or bibliographies. Often pages are consecutive throughout the volume. Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has done research in the field. The author's name appears at the beginning or the end of the article.