You will want to use scholarly sources in research papers and anytime you want verified facts and opinions supported by evidence. One type of scholarly source is peer-reviewed, meaning experts in the field have evaluated and approved the article before publication.
Opinion or editorials articles within scholarly journals are NOT scholarly!
Non-Scholarly sources can be used for finding best practices, current events, popular opinions, easy to understand summaries, and entertainment. These sources are usually not appropriate to use in research papers.
For some research topics, you may want to cite original documents, interviews, artwork, artifacts, novels, poetry, or music. These are all primary sources, which were either created at the time of an event or created by a person who experienced an event. Primary sources offer a unique insight into a particular time or topic.
Examples of primary sources:
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Letter Diary Photo Play Pottery Novel Poetry |
Autobiography Financial record Meeting minutes Historical Account Official records Government documents News recording |
Newsletter Speech Newspaper Magazine Census data Obituary Interview |
TV show Advertisement Music Book Political ads Cars Architecture |
Film Artwork Furniture Coins Map Clothing Memoir |
