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Choosing & Identifying the Best Source Types for Your Research

Learn about all the different source types and when they are appropriate and helpful to you in the research process: encyclopedias, Wikipedia, books, scholarly articles, popular articles and magazines, trade magazines, news, and websites!

What kind of information would you like to find?

Select sources after carefully thinking about the types of information that you would like to find.

  • You can filter your results in a database search, or choose particular databases that contain the type of information you need.

 

To find:

Background information or an overview of a topic:

  • Books
  • Encyclopedias
 
    
        

Up-to-date information on current events:

  • Newspapers
  • Magazines

Scholarly information on a topic:

  • Scholarly (academic) journals
  • Books

Additional sources within bibliographies or footnotes:

  • Books
  • Scholarly (academic) journals
  • Encyclopedias

 

Current news, products, and trends within a
specific trade or industry or practical information from
practioners
  • Trade journals