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
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Example |
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| 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 |
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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 |
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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 as soon as they can, prior to the peer reviewed process |
| Review Process | Articles are reviewed for content by Preprint server. The articles, when submitted have not been through the peer review process. |
Primary Sources VS. 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 |