What type of article are you looking for or looking at?
These categories are not rigid and some of them overlap. Here are some characteristics to help identify the article type:
Research articles:
Peer reviewed (or Refereed):
Review articles:
Conference papers:
Technical reports: (not peer reviewed)
Trade publication articles: (not peer reviewed)
Popular articles: (not peer reviewed)
Websites, press releases, encyclopedia entries:
Authority
Who created the resource? Are the author, organization, affiliations, and publisher clearly shown? If the page is web-based does it link to information about the organization? Does the author have credintials or expertise in the subject matter? Is the resource from a government agency, university, company, non-profit organization?
Accuracy
Is the information contained in the source properly cited? Is there a bibliography or reference list? Can you verify the information in other sources? Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors? Is the statistical data clearly explained? Are charts and graphs properly represented and cited?
Objectivity
Is the resource free of advertizing? Or, if there is advertizing, is it clearly seperate from content? Is there any bias? Is the sponsoring organization bias or motivated to report facts from a particular perspective?
Currency
When was the resource created? When was it updated/ revised? Is it kept current? When was the information gathered?
Coverage
Is the information complete? Does it cover the subject in depth? Does it match your information needs?
These criteria were adapted from a worksheet used by Harvard University's Widener Science Library.
Q. What is a primary source?
A. Primary documents are the original source materials.
In the sciences lab data, lab notebooks, and original test protocols are considered primary documents. Source code and release notes, field observation notes or images are also primary documents.
Journal articles are primary or first reports of research. Books, encyclopedias, and news articles are secondary (or later) sources because they describe what you will find in the primary sources.
Watch Pyrates: Truth be told for a perspective on primary sources in history!
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