A journal is a collection of articles written by experts in an academic or professional field, such as professors or researchers. They are intended to be read by other professors, researchers and students, and include lists of references (citations). They are often peer-reviewed. Peer-reviewed means that the articles were reviewed by experts in the field prior to publication to assess the quality of the research.
Scholarly journals are a particular kind of publication whose purpose is to share research in a certain field. They are more specialized than magazines or news publications, which write about current issues for a wider audience.
For more information, see our guide on Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals.