Now for a quick overview of source types. This is the form or format information is distributed in. Generally when searching for information we go to three different types of resources: books (or monographs, meaning they come out once only), periodicals (meaning they come out periodically, such as newspapers, magazines, and journals), and websites (which can have characteristics of both books and periodicals). We can also include multimedia as a broad category: audio and visual sources. We generally we use a different database/search tool for each.
| Source Type | Search Tool | Example | Use for |
| Books | Catalogs (LMU Library Catalog), Search Engines (Google) | Print and ebooks | In-depth analysis, full treatment of a subject |
| Periodicals: Newspapers | Databases (Academic Search Premier), Search Engines | New York Times, Knoxville Sentinel | Current info, local info, editorials, commentary |
| Periodicals: Magazines | Databases (Academic Search Premier), Search Engines | Time, People, Rolling Stone | Info on popular culture and current events, non-specialist articles written for general public |
| Periodicals: Journals | Databases (Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, PubMed), Search Engines | (Often have the word “journal” in them, Journal of Educational Psychology) | Scholarly research, primary research, in-depth focused articles |
| Multimedia | Search Engines, Catalogs and Databases | Broadcast News, Documentaries, Feature Films, Educational Videos, Podcasts, Radio Interviews | Varies, but mostly current info, pop culture, background info |
| Websites | Search Engines (Google) | News, entertainment, blogs, networking, statistics, some scholarly materials | Getting started with research; up-to-date information, statistics, general background info |
You need to know these in order to know what you have in your hands (or on the screen). One complication here is that you can find almost all of this on the internet, on websites. It is often a good idea to ask yourself if the source in hand (or on-screen) is, or was at some point, available in print or if it is "born digital". For instance, most newspapers now have online editions in addition to the print copy. Doing this can help you understand and identify the type of source you are dealing with. This leads us to popular and scholarly sources.