Many scholarly journals are refereed which means that the article was given to a number of respected scholars in its particular field who then evaluate and certify the quality of the scholarship it contains. The language of scholarly journals is that of the discipline covered. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader. The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world. Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specific professional organization such as the American Historical Society or the American Association of Psychologists or by a university, not by a company only for profit.
True definitions vary from professor to professor.
Check with your professor to be certain how he or she views a particular title. There are many illustrations with glossy or color photographs, often for advertising purposes. These publications rarely, if ever, cite sources. The author is usually a staff writer or a journalist, and the name and credentials are often not provided. A bibliography is usually not provided, although names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text.