Start Your Research at UCBA

There's a range of source types that you may encounter when working on your research for an assignment. The differences between these source types varies such as the depth of coverage for the topic, intended audience, and purpose of the information. Consider what source type will provide the information you need:

• Latest info on a current event?  
• ​Current research on the issue?  
• Opposing perspective for an argument? 
• Overview on the topic? 

Reminder: always review the assignment for any source requirements (e.g. age of source, type of source).

Given the variety of source types, think about when the information was published on that topic. The Information Life Cycle video (2:31 minutes) reviews when various types of information are created.

The How to Identify Newspaper and Magazine Articles video (2:10 minutes) provides an overview of the characteristics of newspaper and magazine articles. 

The How to Identify Scholarly, Academic or Peer Reviewed Articles video (1:26 minutes) outlines the characteristics of scholarly journal articles.