Information sources come in a variety of genres, each marked by specific conventions and target audiences. Among the broader categories of genres you will find:
Popular communication ~ informs
and entertains the general public.
Magazines
like Time and Rolling Stone and books like Michael Jackson : music's living legend
by Rosemary Wallner, distributed by Rockbottom Books,
are examples of popular sources.
Scholarly communication ~
disseminates research and academic discussion among scholars within
disciplines. Journals such as Memory & Cognition
and Journal of Abnormal Psychology are examples of scholarly
sources.
Trade/Professional communication ~ allows practitioners in specific industries or professions to share information. Today's Christian Doctor or Congressional Digest are examples of trade publications.
Since popular and scholarly publications make up so much of the research world for college and university courses, we will focus on their characteristics. Magazines and journals are specific examples of popular and scholarly
information sources, respectively. Click on the
questions below to review the most important characteristics of
these publication types.
This page is derived from content and design elements developed for Research 101 by UWill, University of Washington Libraries, copyright 2000-2005. It is used here with permission.
