LibGuides: Determine Your Information Need: Source Types

Source Types

Type	Information	Use	Example
Website	Websites provide access to information, images, videos, and audio.	to locate government information/documents to find current information when you have plenty of time to evaluate the site	US Bureau of Labor Statistics US Census United Nations
Newspaper	A collection of articles written by journalists about current events. Typically published daily.	to locate up to date information about a current event to find local information to read editorials, commentaries, or expert/popular opinions	Brookens Newspaper Subscriptions
Magazine	A collection of articles and images about a variety of popular topics and current events. Articles are written by journalists for the general population.	to find information /opinions about popular topics or current events to learn more about a topic if you are not an expert in the field	Newsweek Time Psychology Today
Scholarly Article / Peer Reviewed	A collection of articles written by scholars or experts in the field. Scholarly articles, also called academic articles, can be found using databases and cover a wide range of topics and can either be original research or analysis of an issue or topic.	to locate original research to find specific studies within a field of research to locate literature reviews on a topic	Academic Search Complete Databases by Subject
Book	Provide in-depth coverage of a subject. Often include historical or contextual information regarding a topic.	to put a topic in context to learn the history of a topic to find in-depth analysis or summaries of a topic	Brookens Library Catalog
Reference Material	Materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks are considered reference materials. Reference materials can be found both in print and online.	to learn more about a topic (background research) to locate key terminology, people, or dates	Credo Reference Encyclopedia Britannica Wikipedia