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Characteristics |
Scholarly Sources |
Professional or Trade Sources |
Popular Sources |
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Examples |
American Journal of Psychology Journal of the American Medical Association Nature African Journal of Ecology |
Advertising Age Education Week Supply and Demand Chain Executive Health Insurance Underwriter Magazine Beverage Industry Magazine |
Psychology Today National Geographic Seattle Times TV news broadcasts (local news stations like KING 5, national news like CNN, MSNBC, etc.) Blogs, YouTube videos, personal websites |
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Audience |
Scholars, researchers, and students |
Other members of the profession or trade |
General audience, all readers |
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Authors |
Scholars, researchers, and experts in the field of study Author's credentials in the field are established (e.g., institutional affiliation, maybe degrees) |
Members of the profession or trade, specialized journalists, or technical writers Credentials are usually not provided |
Reporters/journalists, usually not experts on the subject Authors may not have special qualifications for writing article; credentials are usually not provided For personal blogs and social media accounts, authors may include as much or as little information as they like |
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Bibliography/ References |
Sources cited in footnotes and/or bibliography Usually extensive list of references |
Documentation of sources is not required, though sometimes brief bibliographies of further readings are included |
Sources are not cited or cited informally Often rely on quotes for experts or witnesses for evidence No reference list provided |
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Language and Writing Style |
Field-specific language/jargon; requires reader to be previously informed about field. |
Include jargon and terms that are commonly used in the profession or trade |
Written in everyday language accessible to any general reader |
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Purpose |
To report results of original research, experimentation or analysis |
Provide practical information for members of a profession or industry, including topics like news, trends, products, and research summaries |
Provide broad, general information and entertainment Secondary but not "original" research (the author didn’t conduct the actual lab work, math, or theoretical analysis.) |
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Appearance |
Dense text-based pages May contain complicated graphs or charts Usually will not include color glossy pages or photographs Very little advertising, if any |
Moderate number of advertisements targeted to the interests of the members of a profession, industry, or organization |
Attractive appearance (often colorful) Advertisements Heavily illustrated Generally short in length |
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