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Business

Access QC Libraries' business research resources.

References/Dictionaries/Encyclopedias

Types of Literature or Information

  • It's important for any research to evaluate information sources and learn the difference among different types of articles, such as Academic/Scholarly, Popular, and Trade journal articles. In general, scholarly peer reviewed journal articles are high quality information sources for research.
  • A scholarly article is written by a scholar or an expert, and provides a detailed analysis of a topic. It is written in the specialized language of a scholarly discipline. It documents the resources the writer used by providing bibliographic citations such as footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography so a reader can check or repeat the research the scholar has completed.

Types of Literature/Information in Library

Literature/Information Types

Description
Journal Articles Written by academic experts in business research and reviewed by other experts in the field, peer-reviewed journal articles are scholarly literature, providing high-quality information sources, such as empirical or case studies, on particular business.
Trade Journal Articles Written by authors with knowledge in a particular industry for practitioners, trade journal articles report general news, trends, and opinions, rather than advanced research, and are not peer-reviewed. 
Newspaper Articles Written by journalists and are published frequently, newspapers articles report on current events and provide up to date information.
Magazine Articles Mostly written by journalists or a staff writer for a general audience, magazine articles are published in periodical and include many photos and ads. Reference to sources are uncommon.
E-books Accessed electronically via electronics devices, such as computers (PCs), tablets, or smartphones, E-books can provide information on the related industries or business.

Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary information sources:

  • Direct evidence or firsthand facts. For example, what a company (or organization) says about itself and its products/services via: annual reports, presentations, press releases, organizational blogs, tweets, speeches, etc.

Secondary information sources:

  •  Describe, summarize, review, interpret, and analyze primary sources. For example, what others say about a company (or organization) and its products/services via:company/industry/market reports, articles/reviews from scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines and trade publications.

                                                                                                                                             (Source: Sources: Brock University)