What Types of Sources of Information Should you Find??
When you have a research assignment, your professor may require that you cite a certain number and types of information. Other times it will be up to you to decide how to best support your argument or thesis. Sources like books, magazine articles, academic journal articles, websites, films, newspaper articles, and social media posts may be sources of information in a research project . Below are some sources of information, knowledge, and data you should be familiar with and start reading and citing.
Image credits: Scholarly Journals: Trent University Library and Archives Libguide; Popular Magazines: St. Paul’s High School Libguide. Books: screenshots from Barnes and Noble.
Print or E-Books:
Lengthy discussionsof topics. Books often take years to research, write, and then get published. Most of the book at the Pace University Libraries are published by university presses, which have the highest standard for academic excellence.
Scholarly or Academic Journal Articles: Written by scholars or experts in the field and reviewed by peers who are experts in the same area. Journal articles are often challenging to read and understand for undergraduate students, but you should expect to begin to read them and start to make sense of the discussions that are happening in them. They often reveal trends or developments, and this could include in professions or careers.
Popular magazine articles: Written for a general, educated audience rather than for professionals or scholars. Many cover current affairs and politics: The New Yorker, Mother Jones, The Nation, National Review, National Geographic, and Time. Other popular magazine articles are more about entertainment and human interest, for example, People, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, Vogue, and Entertainment Weekly. Most of these make only some of their content available for free on the Internet: if you can’t get the entire article using Google, you may be able to find it via the library!
Newspaper Articles: Written by professional journalists. Some newspapers are more reputable than others (have won journalism prizes like The Pulitzer Prize). Google usually finds recent newspaper articles. Ask a librarian if you’re having trouble. The U.S. Major Dailies database has The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times.
