A trade journal's audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. Its main goals are to keep members of the industry abreast of new developments.
Examples of trade journals (all available at ECC in print or through EBSCO)
Air conditioning, heating & refrigeration news (print in HVAC department)
Billboard (EBSCO)
Art Culinaire (print in Culinary Arts department)
Library journal (print in Parkview)
Machine Design (EBSCO)
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CRITERIA |
TRADE JOURNAL |
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Content |
Current news, trends and products in a specific industry; practical information for professionals working in the field or industry. |
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Author |
Author is usually a professional in the field, sometimes a journalist with subject expertise. |
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Audience |
Professionals in the field; the interested non-specialist. |
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Language |
Specialized terminology or jargon of the field, but not as technical as a scholarly journal. |
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Graphics |
Photographs; some graphics and charts; advertisements targeted to professionals in the field. |
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Layout & Organization |
Informal; articles organized like a journal or a newsletter. Evidence drawn from personal experience or common knowledge. |
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Accountability |
Articles are evaluated by editorial staff who may be experts in the field, not peer-reviewed*; edited for format and style. |
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Sources |
Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required. |
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Purpose |
Inform those working in the field/profession of events, techniques, and other professional issues. |
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Paging |
Each issue generally begins with page 1. |
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Publications |
Often published by the professional/trade associations for the field. |
Chart adapted from http://libguides.ccsu.edu/journals, by Susan Slaga-Metivier at The Elihu Burritt Library at Central CT State University, November 18, 2015.
