About Sources - ENGL 1102- Wheeler (Floyd) - Fall 2025 - LibGuides at Georgia Highlands College

Why is this important?

When you're doing research, it's important to know what TYPE of source you're reviewing. A newspaper article may not be good for a scientific paper, and a magazine article can't take the place of a peer reviewed article. Understanding source types will help you filter out sources you don't need so you can find more of the sources that are useful!

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Newspapers (News sources)

Provides very current information about events, people, or places at the time they are published
Useful for information on current events or to track the development of a story as it unfolds
Examples: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN.com

Magazines

Include articles on diverse topics of popular interest and current events
Articles typically written by journalists or professional writers
Geared toward the general public
Examples: Time, Newsweek, National Geographic

Academic Journals (Peer-reviewed or scholarly journals)

Include articles written by and for specialists/experts in a particular field
Articles must go through a peer review process before they're accepted for publication
Articles tend to have a narrower focus and more analysis of the topic than those in other types of publications
Include cited references or footnotes at the end of research articles
Examples: Journal of Communication, The Historian, Journal of the American Medical Association

Trade Publications

Written for a specific industry or trade, contains information specifically for that trade
Often looks more like a magazine
Contains ads for products related to the industry
Examples: Advertising Age, Mathematics Teacher

Books

Cover virtually any topic, fact or fiction
Useful for the complete background on an issue or an in-depth analysis of a theory or person
Can take years to publish, so may not always include the most current information
Examples: The Politics of Gun Control, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hemingway and Faulkner in their Time

Reference Books

Include facts, figures, addresses, statistics, definitions, dates, etc.
Useful for finding factual or statistical information or for a brief overview of a particular topic.
Examples: dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories

Primary & Secondary Sources

A primary source is an original work created during or around the event being studied. A primary source is not interpretive. It will not examine events as they happen (For example a primary source from the French Revolution might tell you about the events of the day that Marie Antoinette was killed, but it won't talk about the socio-economic impact of her death.)	A secondary source interprets primary sources and the original historical event. It specifically examines events for some sort of (often scholarly) purpose. Secondary sources are usually created much later than the original event in question.
Examples of Primary Sources:	Examples of Secondary Sources:
Diaries	Books
Letters	Documentaries
Speeches	Journal Articles
Government Documents (such as a piece of legislation)
Newspaper Articles (written at the time)
Photographs

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