Trade magazines, also called trade journals or professional journals, are publications directed at professionals in a particular field. 

There are some basic criteria you can use to distinguish trade magazines from other types of sources, like scholarly journals, popular magazines, and newspapers.

Common characteristics of trade magazines:

• articles often focus on professional skills, industry news, and trends
• authors may be reporters or field experts
• some photos and other illustrations
• specialized language from the profession
• intended for an audience of professionals and practitioners
• targeted advertisements for products and services relevant to the field

For more information on trade magazines, visit one of the suggested links below.

To search for articles in trade publications only, use this strategy in EBSCO databases: