SOC / SW 214: Research Methods: Types of Sources

Publications written in non-technical language for a general audience.

• Authors are journalists or freelance writers.
• Sources of information are mentioned within the text, but not cited. 

Examples: magazine and newspaper articles, popular nonfiction books, blog posts.

Publications written by experts for an expert audience. 

• Most scholarly papers undergo peer review before they are published as a journal article.
• Sources are cited and listed in references at the end of the paper.

Examples: journal articles, scholarly books, conference papers.