Skip to Main Content
library logo

Ask us!

ENG_Comps_AR

The LibGuide of your librarian for the day, AR (they/them).

Academic and General Articles Examples

Please skim both links. Skimming is going through and reading the beginning, the end, and then skipping through the middle for key words, terms, and phrases.

  1. When Scientists “Discover” What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries (linked here)
  2. Listening to Indigenous Voices, Interests, and Priorities That Would Inform Tribal Co-Management of Natural Resources on a California State University Forest (linked here)

Consider which of these sources is general and which is academic. Review the information at the bottom of this page for more information. Be prepared, as a group, to provide two reasons for why each piece is either general or academic.

Parts of a Research Question:

  • Manageable – specific with enough information for the assignment length​
  • Researchable –information exists to help answer it​
  • Complex – not yes or no, answer comes from variety of sources​
  • Arguable – others could reasonably disagree with your answer​

Common Source Types

Source type Audience Type of information Purpose

News/Magazine 

(in print and online)

general audience who does not need prior knowledge of the topic

OR

general audience with no or little prior knowledge of the topic

the most current information that is known at the time the article was published

usually short articles that cover a topic on the surface without a lot of depth or background

OR

information and opinions about popular topics, current events, and social issues

short articles are on a surface level; longer articles may go more in-depth or cover a wide variety of perspectives on the topic

to inform readers about current events and issues usually at a surface level

OR

to inform and potentially persuade an audience that has a particular interest in the topic or subject area

to provide an overview of many aspects of a broad topic

Scholarly/peer reviewed journal 

(in library database or on the internet)

 academic audience of scholars and experts in a field

articles written by scholars for other scholars often on a very narrow topic

articles are often peer-reviewed, or reviewed by other experts in the field for quality, originality, and value to the scholarly conversation on the topic 

to share the results of a research study or in-depth analysis of an issue with other scholars 

to participate in a scholarly conversation about a topic of research interest to the author