Academic Journal

An academic journal may be a peer-reviewed periodical during which scholarship concerning a specific academic discipline is published. They function forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of latest research, and critique of existing research.

Characteristics of academic journals

a) Authors:

• experts or noted professionals, most often clearly affiliated with an academic or research institution.

b) Audience:

• Articles targeted to experts or specialists.

c) Reference list:

• List of references at the top of the article.

d) Content:

• Research based-often communicates research findings in a given field.

e) Format/ Structure:

• More structured and include abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion.

f) Language:

• Higher level language, focused and serious tone.

g) Length:

• Longer articles, in-depth analysis of the topics.

h) Peer review policy:

• Reviewed by peer for research accuracy before publication by editorial board.

I) Special Features:

• Contains tables of statistics, graphs, maps, or photographs.