Skip to Main Content

Ask us!

English Composition I - ENGL 111

This guide will help you explore your topic and find the sources you need for your out-of-class research paper assignment.

Common Source Types

Source type	Audience	Type of information	Purpose	Example
Encyclopedia/Reference source	general audience with little or no prior knowledge of topic	widely accepted factual information	to educate readers new to a topic; to provide overview and background information	Wikipedia Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy How Stuff Works
News (in print and online)	general audience who does not need 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	to inform readers about current events and issues usually at a surface level	Wall Street Journal New York Times (create an account with your @stu.raritanval.edu email for access)
Magazine (in print and online)	general audience with no or little prior knowledge of the topic	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 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	Time Psychology Today The Atlantic
Professional or Trade publication (in print and online)	professionals or workers in a specific field or occupation	practical information and current news specific to an industry, occupation, or field of study	to help professionals stay up-to-date in their field	Supermarket News Scrubs Inside Higher Ed
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	Journal of Applied Research in the Community College Journal of Child & Family Studies
Government website	general audience, or researchers looking for data, or professionals in public policy related fields	statistics and data collected by state or federal government agencies explanations of public policy, government regulations, or policies for state and federal government offices documents published by state or federal government offices	to inform the public of policies, procedures, regulations, laws to provide necessary forms to the public to share publicly-available data, reports, or other publications (not all publications are free or available online)	USA.gov NJ.gov Healthdata.gov U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Congress.gov
Academic book or ebook	general or academic audience, depending on the complexity of the book; individuals who have a particular interest in the topic	depending on the book, information may be written for novices or people who are new to the topic; vocabulary will be defined and main concepts will be fully explained more advanced academic books intended for other scholars will use more sophisticated language and specialized vocabulary; ideas will be explored in depth and existing research will be referenced; new research or ideas may be presented in full detail and connected to existing research or theory	to cover a broad topic comprehensively or to delve into finer details of a complex topic that can only be addressed in a lengthy work	College (un)bound : the future of higher education and what it means for students Food, farms, and community: exploring food systems
General website	general audience	varies widely depending on the website carefully read the "About" page to learn more about the goals and intentions of the site	must be determined by carefully evaluating the site consider who publishes the site and learn what their goals and values are
Blog	general audience, especially individuals who have common interests	one person's perspective on an issue often written with a more personal tone than other websites or publications to connect with like-minded readers may link to or reference a wide variety of other sources may be part of a larger publication that falls under a different category (for example, The Plum Line is a blog from The Washington Post - a newspaper- and all posts are the opinion of the two bloggers)	depends on the author and publisher carefully read the "About" page to learn more about the purpose of the blog	search Alltop or BlogSearchEngine.org for just about any topic and you will find them!

STOP and answer question 4 on the assessment.