LibGuides: Psychology: General Psychology information

Identifying Types of Sources

Identifying Types of Information and Why Information Types Matter

Being able to distinguish between different types of information is a useful skill to have for life in general. There’s a lot of different types information out there, from statistics to academic articles to news articles to blog posts. Knowing what information is out there, and when to use it, will help you as you work on research projects.

Having information needs in mind can also be helpful when you’re trying to find information and can keep you from feeling overwhelmed with options. Thinking about what you need to answer your question, prove your point, or do your work is another key part of conducting research.

Types of Information

Type	Information	Use	Examples
Magazine	A magazine is a collection of articles and images about diverse topics of popular interest and current events. Usually these articles are written by journalists or scholars and are geared toward the average adult. Magazines may cover very "serious" material, but to find consistent scholarly information, you should use journals.	to find information or opinions about popular culture to find up-to-date information about current events to find general articles for people who are not necessarily specialists about the topic	National Geographic Ebony Sports Illustrated People
Academic journal	A journal is a collection of articles usually written by scholars in an academic or professional field. An editorial board reviews articles to decide whether they should be accepted. Articles in journals can cover very specific topics or narrow fields of research.	when doing scholarly research to find out what has been studied on your topic to find bibliographies that point to other relevant research	Journal of Communication The Historian Journal of the American Medical Association Lancet
Database	A database contains citations of articles in magazines, journals, and newspapers. They may also contain citations to podcasts, blogs, videos, and other media types. Some databases contain abstracts or brief summaries of the articles, while other databases contain complete, full-text articles.	when you want to find articles on your topic in magazines, journals or newspapers	Academic Search Complete (a general database) Compendex (an engineering database) ABI/Inform (a business database)
Newspapers	A newspaper is a collection of articles about current events usually published daily. Since there is at least one in every city, it is a great source for local information.	to find current information about international, national and local events to find editorials, commentaries, expert or popular opinions	Roanoke Times New York Times Globe and Mail
Destiny	A library catalog is an organized and searchable collection of records of every item in a library and can be found on the library home page. The catalog will point you to the location of a particular source, or group of sources, that the library owns on your topic.	to find out what items the library owns on your topic to find where a specific item is located in the library	Virginia Tech's library catalog is called Addison.
Books	Books cover virtually any topic, fact or fiction. For research purposes, you will probably be looking for books that synthesize all the information on one topic to support a particular argument or thesis. Libraries organize and store their book collections on shelves called "stacks."	when looking for lots of information on a topic to put your topic in context with other important issues to find historical information to find summaries of research to support an argument	Nash, Gary B. ed. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, 1990. Silverstone, Roger, ed. Visions of Suburbia, 1997. Smith, J. T. Roman Villas: A Study in Social Structure, 1997
Encyclopedia	Encyclopedias are collections of short, factual entries often written by different contributors who are knowledgeable about the topic. There are two types of encyclopedias: general and subject. General encyclopedias provide concise overviews on a wide variety of topics. Subject encyclopedias contain in-depth entries focusing on one field of study.	when looking for background information on a topic when trying to find key ideas, important dates or concepts	African-American Encyclopedia (subject encyclopedia) Encyclopedia Americana (general encyclopedia) World Book (general encyclopedia found online) Gale encyclopedia of genetic disorders (subject encyclopedia found online)
Web site	The Web allows you to access most types of information on the Internet through a browser. One of the main features of the Web is the ability to quickly link to other related information. The Web contains information beyond plain text, including sounds, images, and video. The important thing to do when using information on the Internet is to know how to evaluate it!	to find current information to find information about companies to find information from all levels of government - federal to local to find both expert and popular opinions to find information about hobbies and personal interests	lcweb.loc.gov (The Library of Congress) wikipedia.org (a wiki) www.vt.edu (Virginia Tech

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