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| Medical Journal vs. Nursing Journal vs. Trade : What's the Difference? | ||||
| You are required to use two nursing articles published during the previous five years. It is important to understand the difference between popular magazines, scholarly journals written for doctors, scholarly journals written for nurses, and trade publications for nurses. Popular magazines (like Prevention, Time, and Newsweek) are written for consumers by staff writers and are inappropriate for your Nursing 211 referenced papers. The chart below distinguishes between scholarly journals written for doctors and/or nurses and trade publications written for nurses. |
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Medical Journal | Nursing Journal | General Nursing Journal (Trade Publication) Best Choice |
| Sample Covers |  |
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| Audience | Written for physicians, scholars and other medical personnel | Written for Nurses (with RNs, BSNs, and Ph.Ds.) | Written for Nurses- more specifically Nurse Practitioners |
| Article length (in general) |
Usually long (8-15 pages) with many sections (Abstract, Introduction, Methods and Materials, Discussion, Analysis, Conclusion) | Usually long (8-15 pages)with many sections (Abstract, Introduction, Methods and Materials, Discussion, Conclusion) | Usually short (3-5 pages) |
| Author/ Publisher | Written by specialists/researchers in field (doctors, professors) | Can be written by Nurses with BSN and/or Ph.D. | Usually written by Nurses with BSN and/or Ph.D. Sponsored by professional societies and professional organizations (like American Academy of Nursing or the Society of Pediatric Nurses) |
| Content/ Writing Style/ Readership |
Formal writing style: requires technical/scientific/specialized vocabulary. Usually original research. | Usually formal writing style. Content may cover theoretical issues, industry trends etc. | Informal writing style: easy to read (usually). Content may cover practical applications and treatment information. |
| Edited/ Reviewed |
Often peer-reviewed by other experts in field for quality of research, accuracy, value to field | Usually peer reviewed (refereed) Reviewed by Nurses |
Reviewed by editorial board of Nurses Reviewed by Nurses |
| Bibliography | Each article always contains a bibliography or list of sources cited | Each article usually contains a bibliography or list of sources cited | May contain a short bibliography of 2-3 sources |
| Frequency of Publication | Often monthly or even quarterly (every three months). Quarterly issues will say "Winter", "Spring", "Summer" or "Fall" next to the year. | Quarterly or monthly | Often monthly |
| Sample Titles | Journal of the
American Medical Association Journal of Virology American Family Physician Annals of Internal Medicine |
Southern Online Journal
of Nursing Research Journal of Nursing Education Canadian Journal of Nursing Research |
AJN RN Cancer Nursing Journal of Pediatric Nursing |
| Helpful Hints |
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