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Skip to Main ContentIn general, there are three types of resources or sources of information: primary, secondary, and tertiary. It is important to understand these types and to know what type is appropriate for your coursework prior to searching for information.
When searching for articles, it's important to know what type of source, or periodical in which the articles are published. This is beacuse each type has its own purpose, intent, audience, etc. This guide lists criteria to help you identify scholarly journals, trade journals, and magazines. It is the first step in critically evaluating your source of information. Determining what makes a journal scholarly is not a clear-cut process, but there are many indicators which can help you.
Scholarly Journal
Examples:
Journal of Asian Studies
Psychophysiology
Social Research
A note about "peer review." Peer review insures that the research reported in a journal's article is sound and of high quality. Sometimes the term "refereed" is used instead of peer review.
Trade Journal
Examples:
Advertising Age
Independent Banker
People Management
General Interest Magazines
Examples:
Newsweek
Popular Science
Psychology Today
Popular Magazine
Examples:
People
Rolling Stone
Working Woman
Use the CRAAP Test to evaluate your sources.
CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.
Currency: the timeliness of the information
Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs
Authority: the source of the information
Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content
Purpose: the reason the information exists