The following are examples of secondary sources:Scholarly journal articlesTrade journal articlesPopular Magazine articlesLiterary and scientific reviewsTelevision documentariesWhen you search for periodicals, be sure to distinguish among different types. Mass-market publications, such as newspapers and popular magazines, differ from scholarlypublications in their accessibility, audience, and purpose.Newspapers and magazines are written for a broader audience than scholarly journals.Their content is usually quite accessible and easy to read. Trade magazines that targetreaders within a particular industry may presume the reader has backgroundknowledge, but these publications are still reader-friendly for a broader audience. Theirpurpose is to inform and, often, to entertain or persuade readers as well.Scholarly or academic journals are written for a much smaller and more expertaudience. The creators of these publications assume that most of their readers arealready familiar with the main topic of the journal. The target audience is also highlyeducated. Informing is the primary purpose of a scholarly journal. While a journal articlemay advance an agenda or advocate a position, the content will still be presented in anobjective style and formal tone. Entertaining readers with breezy comments and splashygraphics is not a priority.Because of these differences, scholarly journals are more challenging to read. Thatdoesn’t mean you should avoid them. On the contrary, they can provide in-depthinformation unavailable elsewhere. Because knowledgeable professionals carefullyreview the content before publication, scholarly journals are far more reliable than muchof the information available in popular media. Seek out academic journals along withother resources. Just be prepared to spend a little more time processing theinformation.
