Live chat with an expert or send an email if we’re offline.
There are lots of ways to contact a librarian. Choose your way
Dana Health Sciences Library:
Hours Saturday, January 4, 2025 |
|
---|---|
Dana Health Sciences Library | 10:00am – 6:00pm |
Dana After Hours Study | 6:00pm – 9:00am |
Howe Library:
Hours Saturday, January 4, 2025 |
|
---|---|
Howe Library | Closed |
Reference Desk | Closed |
Media Services | 1:00pm – 5:00pm |
Maps | Closed |
Silver Special Collections Library:
Hours Saturday, January 4, 2025 |
|
---|---|
Silver Special Collections Library | Closed |
Billings North Lounge Study | Closed |
Types of Publications
Popular Publications These publications are written for a general audience. Topics covered are current events, entertainment, and other issues. Articles are usually written by journalists or freelance writers. Articles do not include references to sources used. Most newspapers are popular publications. Example: Time Example: Burlington Free Press |
Substantive, Trade, & Professional Publications Substantive Publications offer somewhat more in depth coverage of news and current events/issues than popular titles. Often they are devoted to a particular topic. These publications are targeted at people who have no specialized training in an area but who want more analysis than a popular publication can offer. The authors are a mix of journalists and people who work in a field. Professional Journals are publications that are written for practitioners in a field. Example: Scientific American Professional Journals or "Trade Publications" are written for a specific audience or field. They do NOT publish original peer-reviewed research, although they will often refer to original research and scholarship from scholarly publication. Phrases like "Researchers have found ...." or "in a recent study....." generally introduce the scholarship published elsewhere. Example: Education Week |
Scholarly Publications (also known as academic, refereed or peer-reviewed) In depth research for a research or academic audience. Authors are researchers or scholars in the discipline. These articles usually include a discussion of the research methods, data, and full references to sources (footnotes). Articles are written for other researchers, scholars, and students specializing in the field. Usually the topics covered are very specialized. Example: Nature Example: Sustainable Cities and Society |
The Information Continuum
Note: Each of these types of publications has their place. For example you might consult a popular publication to see for yourself how the popular media covers a certain topic (for example, “What is the public perception of fracking?”). You would then use a scholarly publication to see how scholars have conducted research on this same topic and what conclusions their research has led them to.
When reading articles ask yourself the following questions to help you to assess what type of publication you are reading: