Scholarly Articles have:

• Bibliography, footnotes, or endnotes. This provides evidence of the research that was conducted to produce the article.
• Written by expert(s) in the field. Usually there is information that describes the author’s credentials and current position.
• Published by Associations, Research Institutes, University Presses.
• “Peer reviewed.” Refers to the policy of experts in the field examining journal articles before acceptance for publication.
• Written in the jargon of the field for scholarly readers (professors, researchers or students.)
• Illustrations that support the text, such as tables of statistics, graphs, maps, or photographs

Popular Magazines on the other hand:

• No footnotes or references.
• Written by journalists who are usually not experts in the field.
• Easy to read. Intended for lay audience. Informative and entertaining.
• Short articles.
• Many advertisements throughout the magazine.
• Glossy, slick. Illustrated with graphics and photos.
• Unsigned articles.

These criteria apply to all periodicals (online or print).