PSYC 201: Experimentation and Statistics: Types of Sources

One of the main things that sets scholarly journal articles apart from popular magazine articles, is the process of peer review

What sets apart an empirical study from other types of scholarly work is the presence of original data collection driven by a research question, ultimately leading to a conclusion based on the data. Unlike a review article or a literature review that attempts to collect and synthesize salient literature on a particular topic, an empirical research article reports on the collection and analysis of original data in order to answer a research question.

Things to look for:

• Original data collected by the authors presented in the "Results" section
• Phrases like "In this study...", "We report...", "We manipulated...", "These findings show that...", "In present study..."
• Methodology can be replicated 
• Quantitative data is summarized in the abstract

Scholarly peer reviewed journal articles are not the only kind of scholarly work out there. You may encounter and cite other kinds of scholarly literature, or grey literature, and it's important to understand what makes them different than traditional journal articles.

Put simply, grey literature is information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels. This can include research produced by academic, government, or business sources. For example, a journal article is ultimately controlled and distributed by it's commercial publisher, but a dissertation or thesis is produced in an academic environment, and generally not published commercially outside the institution. Grey literature is usually not peer-reviewed, and processes of quality control can vary depending on the source type.

Adapted from the UNSW Sydney "Grey Literature" libguide and Simon Fraser University libguide on grey literature.

• Journal articles
  • Primary empirical research
  • Review articles
• Scholarly literature
  • conference proceedings
  • dissertation/thesis
  • clinical trial
  • study report
• Popular articles
  • magazines
  • news
• Trade publications
  • marketing report
  • industry newsletters
• Government Sources
  • Government Reports

 SEARCH TIP:

In the library catalog, as well as most databases, you can filter by resource type. On the left is an example of some of the many resource types you may see in a catalog search (the filter pane will be on the right-hand side of your search results screen).

For news articles: Select "Newspaper Articles"

For trade publications: Select "Newsletter Articles" and/or "Reports" (*You may find government reports in this category as well)

For journal articles: Select "Articles"

For grey literature (definition below): Select "Dissertations" or "Conference Proceedings" or "Theses"

For popular articles: Select "Magazine Articles"

A trade journal is defined by the New York Public Library as "a publication written for people who work in a specific trade or industry. Trade journals provide current industry news and articles about new products and trends, including regulatory developments which may affect an industry."

When writing about psychological phenomenon that are heavily influenced by a particular industry, such as social media marketing or sports fandom, it can be helpful to gain insights by reading trade journals. They will often quote illuminating statistics and elucidate important trends in an industry that has direct bearing on the psychology topic you are researching. However, it is important to note that trade journals are not the same as trade literature, which is usually defined as publications concerned with the merchandising of business to a general audience of consumers, or primary empirical research, which presents original data or findings driven by a specific research question. Trade journals are created by and for people working in an industry to share trends and ideas.

What to look for in the catalog:

• Newsletter article (not to be confused with newspaper articles)
  • "A serial publication consisting of no more than a few pages devoted to news, announcements, and current information of interest primarily to a specialized group of subscribers or members of an association or organization." May include trade journal articles.
• Market Research 
  • "Data regarding consumer needs and preferences in any given market"