Information Literacy Learning Guides

Key Concepts & Practice

Reference Sources are created for a general or specialized audience. They are :

• usually written by scholars or experts in a field.
• provide general or in-depth information on a topic with background information and overview of topics, statistics, bibliographies, etc.
• types of reference sources:
• Encyclopedias - can provide information about a subject, give a general overview, including definitions, description, background, and bibliographic references.
• Statistics - These include general and specialized statistics. Statistical Abstract of the United States
• Almanac - is a collection of miscellaneous facts and statistics. Old Farmer's Almanac
• Thesaurus - is a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms. New Webster's Thesaurus

• usually provide detailed analysis of a subject.
• additional useful resources found in footnotes and bibliography.

• are written for the general public by journalists, freelancers, and staff who are usually paid
• current events, local information,, provide immediate news, have editorials, can provide photographs, etc.
• Example: Arizona Republic, New York Times,Washington Post

• written for a general, nonacademic audience.
• usually provide general information, can provide analysis, public opinion.
• rarely provide background information, statistics, cited references, etc.
• articles are usually short 1-6 pages and have a lot of advertising, which may be tied to editorial content.
• often have many illustrations and photographs.
• Examples:Time, Newsweek , Sports Illustrated ,Glamour

• have a primary audience of scholars, researchers, students.
• provide in-depth articles written by scholars and researchers to communicate research findings & peer reviewed.
• cite sources with references and/or bibliographies.
• usually published by scholarly societies or professional organizations.
• Examples: Current Research in Social Psychology,   The Internet TESL Journal