Doing Research: Source Types

Analyze your sources to understand why it was written or created, who wrote it, what their expertise is, and who the intended audience is. These kinds of questions help you figure out if you're using the appropriate sources for your work. Additionally, consider these factors: 

Sources have different functions (BEAM)

• Background sources – Wikipedia, textbooks, specialized encyclopedias, review articles
• Exhibits –poll data, transcribed interviews, text of public laws or court opinions, historical documents
• Arguments – works that propose a thesis and develop it with evidence
• Methods – works that propose how to think about something; theory or methodology is the focus

There are different authors of information

• Journalists and other professional writers who report the news or write books and articles for a general audience and from a non-specialist perspective; these types of sources are usually non-scholarly or popular
• Subject experts who write for other experts; these types of sources are almost always scholarly. Experts sometimes write non-scholarly pieces for newspapers, magazines or blogs about their topic for a general audience.
• Artists who create tangible expressions of their ideas
• Members of the public who interpret and express ideas publicly  

There are different audiences for publications

• General readers who want to know factual information about a topic
• General readers who are interested in opinions and commentary
• Members of a particular profession such as teachers, lawyers, or engineers who share common interests
• Scholars and scientists who want to know the latest research findings (and reviews of research)

Quite often you will be expected to use "scholarly" or "peer reviewed" or "academic" sources. Here's what that means: 

• The author is a scientist or scholar, not a journalist. The author usually has the highest degree in their field (like a Ph. D.) and works at a college or university. 
• The audience is other researchers, scientists, or scholar. The language is fairly complex and assumes prior knowledge of the topic.
• The source references the work of other researchers. Look for bibliographic notes, references, or works cited.  
• Scholarly sources are usually published by academic publishers (like Oxford University Press); articles appear in scholarly journals, often with titles like Journal of ....

Though many databases let you limit a search to scholarly or peer reviewed articles, those limiters aren't foolproof. As an example, they will include book reviews, which are not reporting original research. Take a look at "Anatomy of a Scholarly Article" from North Carolina State University Library.

Peer review means the source has been reviewed prior to publication (usually without the reviewers knowing who wrote the source and vice versa); reviewers will then recommend if the work should be published. Many - but not all - scholarly sources have been peer reviewed. To check if your scholarly article has been peer reviewed, you can visit the journal's website.

The term "primary source" is defined differently by various disciplines.

• In the humanities, a primary source is a historical document, such as a diary, memoir, a work of art, a news account published when an event was fresh - something from the historical period under examination.
• In the sciences, a primary source is a scientist's write-up of their research that includes their methods and results, as opposed to science journalism or a summary of research (a "review article") that has been conducted to provide an overview of research on a given topic.

A secondary source is one that has already been analyzed by someone else. There are also tertiary sources, such as a textbook or encyclopedia, that summarizes knowledge in general terms.

Primary sources help a researcher get as close as possible to the subject under examination. They can point your reader to the raw materials of your ideas and provide an opportunity for you to do your own, original analysis. For more about primary sources, check out our guide to primary sources available in our library.

People communicate in all kinds of different information packages. Here are some of the most common ones you will encounter: 

There are many, many other kinds of information packages, too, including the ones listed below. 

• Websites
• Audio & visual files
• Conference papers (sometimes published as books, published online, or unpublished)
• Laws (statutes, court opinions, regulations) and other government documents (hearings, bills, reports)
• Press releases, reports, studies, FAQs, etc., produced by nonprofits and corporations
• Data sets
• Unpublished records, like journals, personal papers

And for help citing any source you find, use our Cite Your Sources guide.

Here are tips on how to located various types of sources for your project. A librarian can help you search for sources, too, so please reach out for assistance.

• To find scholarly sources, like journal articles and academic books:
  • Try some of the recommended databases on the Articles tab on this guide, along with Google Scholar.
  • Use the Tracking Down Materials tab for help on accessing articles that aren't available full text.
  • Search the library catalog to find print and ebooks. The Books tab also explains how to search for and order books at other libraries. 
• To find newspaper articles, use the ProQuest US Newsstream and/or the Access World News database. Both are listed under the Articles tab.
  • If you use Google, you will likely hit a paywall. If this happens, try the databases mentioned above and/or reach out to a librarian.
• To find magazine articles, start with Academic Search Premier (listed under the Articles tab). As with newspapers, you can use Google but you will also probably hit a paywall for most titles.
• To explore most other sources, ask yourself who might publish the kind of source you're looking for. Possibilities are endless, anything from nonprofits to companies to governments to professional associations to individuals.
  • The best place to start is Google. As you sort through results, pay attention to who wrote and published the source, the intended audience, the type of source, any claims it makes, etc. Be sure you are thinking critically about the source itself and how it may or may not inform your own understanding of the topic.
  • Contact a librarian for more ideas on how to access particular types of sources.