*Cite and Analyze Business Information: Understanding Types of Business Articles

Citing and Analyzing Information tools for business students.

Scholarly Works

Report on original research or experimentation.
Written by scholars in the profession or someone researching in the field.
Assume reader has knowledge of topic or issue
Almost always cite their sources (look for references)
Are not as current as other publications listed on this page because of research involved, peer reviewing & publication timelines
Almost always have abstracts and frequently charts/graphs.
Tend to be longer than 3 or 4 pages.
Sometimes are published by professional organizations.

Examples: Academy of Management Journal, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Research

Trade Journals

Provide more in depth information in a field or industry
Usually are written by professionals in the field
Contain both reporting and analysis
Do not always have references but often cite in text
Use terminology of that field or industry
Can use charts and graphs
May be published by professional organizations

Examples: Beverage World, Industrial Management

General Business Press

Focused on current concepts, issues and news related to various aspects of business.
Often written by editorial staff member or free lance writer.
Assume some knowledge of business terminology, but not as much as for trade and scholarly journals.
Do not cite sources except in text
Often profile key individuals & corporations in stories or interviews.
Use graphics liberally, plus some charts and graphs.
Usually have brief articles ranging from 1 or 2 paragraphs to 1 to 3 pages.
Usually published for profit by a commercial entity or individual.

Examples: Business Week, Fortune, Forbes

Popular Works

Strive to entertain, sell products, or promote a viewpoint.
Provide an overview. Not useful for in-depth or much new info.
Are informative, not analytical.
May give second hand information with original source obscured
Use short, well written articles in layperson language
Use lots of graphics such as photos & charts
Usually use article titles that are very broad, not specific

Examples: U.S. News & World Report, Money, National Review

Newspapers

Give investigative stories that may be analytical, factual or fluff.
Provide more current news than in depth information
Usually are published daily or weekly

Example of famous newspaper: The Wall Street Journal

News Wires

For a fee, News Bureaus make available press releases from organizations. Some News Bureaus are competitors such as AP and Business Wire.

Clients include companies, labor unions, stock exchanges, trade associations, universities, philanthropic groups, and PR firms.
Business announcements include earnings, personnel changes, litigation, major contracts, new products, markets, etc.
Considered corporate hype but an invaluable source of information not otherwise seen because publishers only have space for top stories.

Example News Bureaus: AP, Reuters, UPI, Business Wire, PR Newswire, Knight–Ridder Financial News, Dow Jones News Service (its stories often appear in Wall Street Journal)