Main Types of Literature
| Values & Uses | Language | Authors | Sources | Publisher | Graphics | Examples | |
| Scholarly & Research Journals | Reports
original research; Refereed or peer-reviewed; In depth & lengthy analysis of issues related to discipline; Includes abstract of article; Scholar are kept up-to-date in their field |
Academic; Can be very technical; Uses language of the discipline; Difficult to read |
Researchers
or Academic Scholars (e.g. professors) |
Footnotes & bibliographies;
Citations in text; Extensive documentation |
Universities; Scholarly presses; Research organizations | Few
glossy ads; Graphs; Charts; Formulas; Tables; |
American Hist. Review; Behavioral Ecology; |
| Popular Magazines | Short articles; Not in-depth; Current events & hot topics; Interviews; They are designed for profit & a wide range of readers; Entertaining & flashy; Primary source for analysis of popular culture |
Non-technical language; Easy to read |
Journalists; Freelance writers | Rarely cite any sources | Commercial publishers | Very glossy; Full of color ads and pictures of all sorts |
Time;
Newsweek; Sports Illustrated; Readers Digest |
| Professional, Trade & Industry Journals | Statistics,
forecasts, and current trends; Company, organization, & biographical information; Employment & career Info; News & products in a field |
Written for practitioners; Uses
professional terminology; Difficult to read |
Practitioners in the field;
Journalists with subject expertise |
Occasionally use citations in
text; Sometimes brief bibliographies |
Commercial publishers or professional and trade associations | Photographs, charts, tables, & all types of illustrations; Sometimes glossy ads | RN
(Registered Nurse); Science Teacher; Restaurants and Institutions; American Libraries |
| Journals of Commentary & Opinion | Commentaries on social &
political issues; Some in-depth analysis; Political viewpoints; Acts as voice of activist organization; Speeches & interviews; Book reviews |
Written for a general educated
audience; Easy to read |
Varies extremely from academics to journalists to representatives of various groups | Occasionally uses citations or provide short bibliographies | Commercial publishers or non-profit organizations | Wide variety of appearances; Some have no graphics, while others are loaded | Mother
Jones; Atlantic; National Review; New Republic |
| Newspapers | Primary
info on events; Current information (local, regional & global); Hard news; Classified ads; Editorials; Speeches |
Written for a general educated
audience; Easy to read |
Journalists | Rarely cite any sources | Commercial publishers | Pictures; charts; ads of all sorts |
New
York Times; Washington Post; Christian Science Monitor; Wall Street Journal |
| Gray Literature | Literature not typically available through regular market channels because they were never commercially published, listed, or priced; Reviews current information & occasionally provides original research | Can be very technical; Uses the language of the discipline |
Government
officials; Researchers; Academic Scholars |
Ranges from no documentation to extensive use of citations | U.S
Government; Universities; Scholarly presses; Research organizations |
No
glossy ads; Graphs; Charts; Formulas; Tables |
Reports (government,
institutional, technical, research); Newsletters; Bulletins; Internal documents; Dissertations; Theses; Conference proceedings |
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