Week 2 – Comparing Academic Sources

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LDR/711A v12

Distinguishing Sources by Type

LDR/711A v12

Page 2 of 2

Distinguishing Sources by Type

As a doctoral student, you must cite and reference sources in your work. To produce scholarly essays, you must integrate scholarly sources. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish scholarly from non-scholarly sources. The following chart distinguishes sources by type.

Sources by Type

Scholarly Journals

Trade Publications

Popular Press

Internet

The primary purpose is to present research, theories, and methodology.

The primary purpose is to present industry trends, new products, and organizational news.

The primary purpose is to provide general information or to entertain.

The primary purpose is to communicate organizational information.

Geared toward scholars, researchers, and serious graduate students

Geared toward business or industry members

Geared toward non-professionals or the general public

Geared toward non-professionals or the general public

Scholars and researchers author the articles.

Journal staff writes the articles.

Publication staff or freelance writers contribute articles.

Authors tend to be internal sources or anonymous contributors.

Articles contain the language of the discipline in a formal, academic tone.

Articles contain the language of the industry, including technical or professional jargon.

Articles contain casual, everyday language geared toward a broad-based audience.

Contains casual, everyday language geared toward a broad-based audience.

Writers always cite and reference sources.

Some but not all articles contain citations and references.

Articles do not contain citations and references.

Frequently, articles do not contain citations and references.

Articles generally have a sober, serious appearance, and may contain graphs and charts.

Articles have a less sober appearance and may contain glossy and exciting pictures.

Articles have a slick and attractive appearance and contain photographs, drawings, etc.

Articles have a slick and attractive appearance and contain pop-up ads and graphics.

Journals contain few or no advertisements.

May contain advertisements

Contains advertisements

Contains advertisements

Professional organizations or academic press produced

Professional organizations usually produce

A company often owns and publishes.

Often published by organizations or unknown sources

Editorial board peer reviews article submissions

Contributions are not peer-reviewed.

Contributions are not peer-reviewed.

Rarely peer-reviewed

Tip: Sometimes it is hard to know if a source is peer-reviewed. Although the Harvard Business Review has the name “Harvard” in the title, it is actually a trade magazine. Ulrich’s Publication Directory provides information on more than 300,000 publications. By consulting Ulrich’s Publication Directory, students can determine a publication’s credibility as a doctoral source. By typing the name of a source in the search field, Ulrich’s will indicate the type of source, such as trade publication, scholarly or academic journal, or consumer magazine.

Copyright 2023 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2023 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

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