Skip to Main Content

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!

Trade Journals

Some of the prominent trade publications are mentioned in the first page of the industry report from IBISWorld.

If you know the name of a trade publication, find out if Rider has access by searching the publication name by clicking on the Journals button on the library website in the lower right.

If you don't know a specific title, search in these databases listed below.

Not all trade publications that you find in a search will be specific to your industry. You may find an article on soft drinks in the trade publications Marketing or Drug Store News.  However, somewhere in the results you should see the publications that are read by the people in your industry today.

 

Finding Trade Publications in Business Source Premier

Conduct a search in Business Source Premier,

On the search results page, click the Source Type Button, then limit to Trade publications

Source Types Business Source Premier

 

Finding Trade Publications in ABI/Inform
To find Trade Publications in ABI Inform, conduct a search. On the results page, look to the left-hand side, look for Source Type, if Trade Journals is not listed, click More.

screenshoot of ABI inform search results.  A red box is around the Source Type and an arrow points to More

 

Screenshot of the ABI/INFORM Source Type page displayed after clicking 'More' under Source Type in the search results. 'Trade Publications' is highlighted, indicating its selection as a filter option."

 

Source Types

Characteristics

Used for

Disadvantages

Trade Journals

·   Provide industry-specific news and advertising targeted at those who work in a particular profession or trade.

·   Written by staff writers or journalists, often with expertise in field.

·   Articles are brief, unless a featured, rarely cited.

·      Find information on current news, products, and trends within a specific trade or industry.

·      Glean practical information within a field from practitioners within that industry.

·      Limited in depth and comprehensiveness.

Trade journals Trade journals Trade journals

Trade journals

Trade journals Trade journals