(image sourced from MyLO)

The purpose of a journal article 

• Is to publish the most recent research on a specific topic, so publication is frequent. 
• Journals can publish issues once a week, once a month, bimonthly, annually, or even biannually (depending on the subject area).
• Experts in the field use the frequent publication of journal articles to communicate the most current thinking and ideas in that subject area.

Unlike books

• Journal articles take a deep dive into a specific aspect of a subject area examining it in-depth. For example:

• Visually this could be described as the upright bar of a capital letter T.