Types of Resources: Format
Articles
Articles are relatively short, focused pieces that can come from many sources, including:
- newspapers
- magazines
- trade publications
- reviews
- journals
Books
Books, in the context of this research guide, refer primarily to scholarly volumes. Both print and digital books are great resources for comprehensive information about a topic, including its history, impact, associated viewpoints, and context in relation to other topics.
Databases
Databases are searchable collections of articles, often containing thousands if not millions of records. While individual databases may differ slightly in what search features are available, most will share basic search filters like date, language, and subject. Often database content overlaps, but if you're having trouble finding articles on your topic, try searching in another database to see if it includes additional resources.
Journals
Journals (often called academic journals or scholarly journals) are published collections of articles, usually focused within a particular subject, written by different authors, usually experts in their field. Many (but not all!) journals are peer-reviewed (also called refereed). This means that before publication, the article is read and commented on by other experts in that field to make sure it's as reliable as possible by the time you read it. Some databases will let you know if a journal is peer-reviewed, but the best way to tell is to go to that journal's website and look at their editorial process. If it includes steps for others to provide feedback on articles before publication, it's a peer-reviewed journal.
Types of Resources: Content
Three main types of content that you will encounter during your research are Popular, Trade, and Scholarly. Below is a chart of characteristics for identifying each content type and how they compare to each other.
|
Popular Publications |
Trade/Professional Publications |
Scholarly Publications |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Audience |
intended for a broad audience with no subject expertise |
intended for an audience of professionals/practitioners within a certain field |
intended for an audience with subject-specific knowledge |
Language |
use simple language and vocabulary |
use the jargon of the field |
use the jargon of the field, often highly in depth |
Source |
written by a member of staff or a freelance writer |
often published by an association/organization within the field |
written by experts in the subject |
References |
contain few or no references |
contain few or no references |
contain formal references |
Ads |
contain ads |
contain ads geared toward the interests of professionals in the field |
contain no ads |
Graphics |
contain often colorful, eye-catching graphics |
contain often colorful, eye-catching graphics |
contain only data-related graphics (tables, charts, etc.) |
Purpose |
intended to entertain, sell something, or persuade audience toward a desired action |
intended to update readers on news, trends, and new products in the field |
intended to add original research or scholarship to the subject |
Peer-Reviewed |
not peer-reviewed |
not peer-reviewed |
mostly peer-reviewed |
Food for thought: Where might newspapers fit into this chart?
Types of Resources: Evidence-Based Medicine
See the pyramid below to help you navigate the resources you might find when doing your research. Some databases allow you to narrow down your results list based on these study types.
For more information about study types and their descriptions, see BMJ's Glossary of EBM Terms.
1. Sackett DL, Rosenberg WM, Gray JA, Haynes RB, Richardson WS. Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. BMJ. 1996;312(7023):71-2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2349778/.
