Research Help

What are Popular Sources?

• Intended for a general audience (potentially for a specific demographic or community) 

• Credibility varies (may not cite sources) 

• Useful for perspectives, opinions, and very current events 

• Published in/as:

  • Newspapers and Magazines (articles, opinions, editorials)

  • Websites or Blogs

  • Social Media

  • Infographics, Online Video, or Podcasts 

Newspapers

Audience: general audience, possibly a specific demographic (location, community, etc.)

Good for:

• Up-to-date information on current events  
• Published frequently (sometimes daily)  
• Covers local, national, and international news  
• Serves as a record of events containing quotes from officials, witnesses, and experts  
• May also include statistics and images  
• Includes a variety of types of information from objective reporting to opinion columns  

Be careful / consider:

• Written by journalists, who usually aren’t experts in the subject  
• New information may be contradicted and require corrections after original publication  
• Publication may have an editorial bias (conservative, liberal, etc.) 

Magazines

Audience: general audience, possibly relating to specific interests (such as hobbies, sports, and recreation)  

Good for:

• Current information  
• Usually short and easy to understand articles  
• Often includes photos and illustrations  

Be careful / consider:

• Authors may not be experts in the subject (secondhand information) 
• May not cite sources  
• Publication may have an editorial bias (conservative, liberal, etc.)  

Professional Magazines & Trade Journals

Audience: professionals (may include scholars) in a particular field or trade  

Good for:

• Current information that is relevant to a particular field, profession, or trade  
• Articles often include context and analysis relevant to a particular discipline  

Be careful / consider:

• May not be peer reviewed  
• Content varies in length and complexity  
• May not cite sources  

Books

Audience: general audience and/or scholars, professionals, and researchers

Good for:

• Overview of a topic, potentially including background and historical context  
• May build off existing knowledge in the field and provide suggestions for further reading (cites credible sources)  

Be careful / consider:

• May be simplified (for general audience) or complex (for scholars)  
• Publication process takes longer, so information is dated and does not include the most current events  
• May be biased, depending on the author and publisher  

Websites

Audience: varies

Good for:

• Many types: news, government, company, educational, personal interest, etc.
• Can be about any topic and any skill level  

Be careful / consider:

• Hard to check for credibility, accuracy, or bias 
• May not cite sources  

Reference (Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc.)

Audience: general audience, possibly scholarly or professional

Good for: 

• Useful background information on a subject 
• Generally written as entries then compiled by editors 
• May provide direction in finding additional (and more specific) sources   

Be careful / consider:

• Does not provide in-depth information or specific research 
• Quality and credibility vary, depending on the authors  

Government

Audience: government officials and citizens

Good for:

• Includes a variety of reports, websites, and data
• Credible information 

Be careful / consider:

• Often difficult to read or comprehend