Skip to Main Content

Research Tutorial

Types of Sources

Let's talk about the characteristics of different source types and when you might use a source for a particular information need.

On this page we will look at differences between scholarly, popular, or trade resources, and then look at the strengths and weaknesses of different source types.


Scholarly, Popular, or Trade?

When conducting research, it is important to know the difference between scholarly, popular, and trade sources. Some sources are strictly scholarly, popular, or trade, while others can be one or another type depending on the situation. 

Example: Academic journal articles are always considered scholarly, while books can be scholarly, popular, or trade depending on the authors, content, and other characteristics. 

Explore the differences between scholarly, popular, and trade resources below. 

Scholarly articles are written by researchers or experts in a particular field and contribute new knowledge or insights on a topic. They use specialized vocabulary, have extensive citations, and are often peer-reviewed.

 

Examples: academic books and academic journal articles.

Popular articles are typically written to entertain or inform the general public. They use simple language so someone reading the article who has no prior knowledge on the subject could still understand the content.

 

Examples: magazines, news sites, blogs, etc.

Trade articles are written by people with knowledge of a certain industry. They are not considered scholarly because they share general news, trends, and opinions, rather than advanced research, and they are not peer-reviewed.

 

Examples: Police Chief Magazine or Firehouse Magazine.


Strengths and Weaknesses

All information sources have value. The type of source you choose during your research will depend on your information need. Therefore, it's important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different source types. 

Book

A work of fact or fiction. May be electronic.

Strengths: Good for a broad overview of a topic or for background information. May be written by experts. 
Weaknesses: Not good for up to date information.

Scholarly Resource  - sometimes
or Popular Resource 
or Trade Resource 

Cover of Canadian Family Law (Book)

Newspaper/News Site

A regular publication containing current events, informative articles, editorials, and advertising. May be electronic.

Strengths: Good for daily information and current events.
Weaknesses: Not good for unbiased or deeply researched information.

Popular Resource 
or Trade Resource 

Screenshot of Vancouver Sun Homepage
 

Scholarly Journal

A regular publication written by experts in their field. Presents new research. Usually electronic. Can be peer-reviewed.

Strengths: Good for the latest research on a topic and information that has been critically reviewed by experts. Can be used to find citations to more resources.
Weaknesses: Not good for a broad overview of a subject.

Scholarly Resource 

Cover of scholarly journal
 

Wikipedia Article

Articles created and maintained by anyone on any subject. Electronic.

Strengths: Good for a very broad overview on a topic. Can be used to find citations to more information. Use for up to date information, developing a research question, and finding search terms to use in databases.
Weaknesses: Not a good source to reference in your research projects or for consistently reliable information.

Popular Resource 

Wikipedia Logo
 

Government Reports or Websites 

Sources that may contain statistics, policy, legal information, and reports. Created and maintained by a city, state, province, country, etc. Print or electronic.
Strengths: Good for official information on a country, such as data and statistics.
Weaknesses: Not good for unsanctioned or unofficial information. Information may contain biases. 

Popular Resource 
or Trade Resource 

Screenshot of Canada.ca

Encyclopedia Article

A resource that provides summaries or short articles on a topic. May be electronic.
Strengths: Good for background information.
Weaknesses: Not good for in-depth research or up to date information.

Popular Resource 
or Trade Resource 

Cover of encyclopia

CC BY-SA Icon
Unless otherwise noted, this guide is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License).

CCBYNCSA Content on this page was adapted from University of Washington Library's Savvy Info Consumers: What are Scholarly, Popular, & Trade Publications? and University of Texas Libraries Popular, Scholarly, or Trade? The activity 'Scholarly, Popular, or Trade' was adapted from KPU Library's guide Scholarly Publications, which was adapted from “Teach Yourself: Understanding Scholarly Sources” created by North Carolina State University Libraries. All content is published under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license