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| Source | Visual Characteristics | Author(s) | Purpose | Audience | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Newspaper (Periodical) |
short; contains byline; no references; contains ads | written by journalists or staff writers; reviewed by an editor | to inform or comment on current local, national & international events | general public | New York Times; Green Bay Press Gazette; The Washington Post |
Magazines (Periodical) |
brief to medium length articles; no bibliography; extensive advertising | written by journalists or staff writers; reviewed by an editor | to inform, persuade, or entertain depending on audience | general public; special interest | Time; Newsweek; Psychology Today; GQ; Glamour |
Trade Publications (Periodical) |
brief to medium length articles; may contain references | written by staff writers, professionals, or experts in a profession or trade | to inform or report on industry news, trends, products, etc. | professionals within a field such as marketing, human resources, teaching, etc. | Nursing in Practice, Food Engineering, Publishers Weekly |
Scholarly Journals (Periodical) |
long articles with a methodology, discussion and conclusion; abstract; language is specialized to field; contains a long list of references | written by scholars or experts in a field; peer-reviewed | to inform, present original research, and communicate formally with other scholars | scholars, researchers, and experts in a field | Journal of Psychology; Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion; History and Anthropology |
Academic Books |
comprehensive and long with chapters; has a table of contents and index; extensive list of references | written by scholars or experts; reviewed by an editor in the field; published by an academic press | to inform, analyze, or communicate broad understanding or in-depth information | scholars, researchers and experts in a field; occasionally an educated audience | Wild Hope: On the Front Lines of Conservation Success; Evidence-based Practice in Clinical Social Work |
Reference Books |
short, authoritative entries; may contain a list of references; may identify an author | written by scholars or experts; reviewed by editor(s) | to inform and provide a brief overview of a topic | ranges from experts to general public | Encyclopedia of Human Development; The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English |
Government Documents |
ranges from short, brief reports to lengthy multi-volume items | written and reviewed by a group of researchers or government office | to inform, report, or record (ex: formal court proceedings); provides statistics or in-depth information on an issue | scholars, experts, lawmakers, and the general public | Congressional Record; Code of Federal Regulations; Occupational Outlook Handbook |
Multimedia |
radio, television, images, audio (podcasts), films, etc. | filmographers, documentarians, radio, television stations and networks, and general public | to inform, persuade, and/or entertain | typically intended for the general public | Audio of NPR segment, Race: The Power of an Illusion (documentary), Lost |
Websites |
ranges from a few webpages of content to several webpages; usually identified by the domain: .com/.org/.edu/.gov | anyone -- includes general public | to inform, persuade, entertain, or promote misinformation | anyone -- ranges from general public to experts | World Health Organization -- who.int; SportsBlog.com; Buzzfeed.com; American Diabetes Association -- diabetes.org |
The sources listed above are among the most common found when researching, but there are several other types of sources you may come across.