What kind of article am I looking at?
At times, you might be asked by your instructor to find and use specific kinds of articles. Use this page to learn about different sources to help you decide when you should be using different types of sources in your research.
Types of Sources
Popular Sources
|
Example |
 |
| Audience | General Public |
| Author | Written by journalists with no subject expertise |
| Citations | Very few or none |
| Content | Current events, general interest articles |
| Purpose | To inform, entertain |
| Review Process | Editorial staff, usually with no background in the field |
Trade Journals
|
Example |
 |
| Audience | Professionals in a specific field |
| Author | Usually expert in a field, journalist with subject expertise |
| Citations | Some articles will have citations, but they are not required |
| Content | Articles about a certain industry |
| Purpose | To inform about current news, trends, and tools in an industry |
| Review Process | Editor who is usually an expert in the field |
Scholarly Journals
|
Example |
 |
| Audience | Academics, researchers |
| Author | Academics and researchers experts in their field |
| Citations | References required |
| Content | Research results/reports, reviews of research, book reviews |
| Purpose | To share with academic community |
| Review Process | Editorial board made up of other experts, many articles are peer-reviewed |
Primary Sources Versus Secondary Sources
| Primary Sources | Secondary Sources |
| Direct observation | Reviews or remarks |
| Author is who conducted the research | Author did not conduct the research |
| Usually a research paper, a lab notebook, research data, technical reports, or a conference presentation | Includes review article, book, and brief or popular science report about the topic |
What is a Peer Reviewed Article? How do articles get peer reviewed?
Watch this short video to learn more.