ENG 111 / 112 : Start Guide for Undergraduate Level Research

Approaching the issue from multiple perspectives will add complexity to your position, which will lead to a stronger paper. Typically, a well-researched paper will not only include a diverse set of perspectives, but it will include references to a variety of sources that support your ideas. For college level research papers sources tend to use: academic, scholarly or peer-reviewed articles.  However your sources will depend on the type of paper and your topic.

Primary sources include original content, first-hand accounts, raw data, documents or objects created at the time of study. Primary sources vary dependent upon the focus of study.

For example, primary sources for a historian will include diaries, letters, newspaper article written at the time of an event; for a literary scholar, she may study a poem, a short story, or novel; for a musicologist, she may study notes written by the composer; for a biologist, she will study the findings of an original research project.

Secondary sources interpret or analyze a primary source. A secondary source provides commentary and discussion of a primary source.

For example, a magazine article that discusses a research study that analyzed data collected from a survey about literacy in rural school districts.

The following video was produced for University of West Florida Library; it contains useful information about primary and secondary sources:  

Article databases index both popular, professional/trade, and scholarly journals (or peer reviewed).
Peer reviewed or refereed articles refers to the process in which articles are reviewed by professionals in a field of study before being published. A journal's website should explain the publishing process and if it is peer reviewed or not. Many times professors use the term peer reviewed and scholarly articles synonymously.

CRITERIA	SCHOLARLY	POPULAR	PROFESSIONAL/TRADE
AUTHOR	Researcher, scholar, or specialist with expertise in the subject; author's credentials are provided	Journalist or staff writer; paid to write articles; may or may not be an expert in the subject	Usually practitioners and professionals in the field (has subject expertise)
AUDIENCE	Experts, scholars, researchers, professors and students in the field	General public	Professionals in the field; may appeal to the general public
PURPOSE	In-depth report of original research/findings written by the researcher; communicate scholarship	Current events and general interest stories; may report about other's research; to entertain and inform	Report current news, trends, and products about a specific industry; share practical information for professionals in the field
TONE	Scholarly or technical jargon or terminology	Accessible and readily understood by a larger audience.	Professional jargon or terminology
REFERENCES	Sources are cited in a bibliography, references, endnotes, or footnotes	Rare	Few, if any, sources cited
REVIEW	Refereed or reviewed by scholars in the field	Editor	Editor
LENGTH	Usually 5+ pages; often includes an abstract, goals and objectives, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion	Usually short, a few pages	Usually short, a few pages
ADVERTISING	Little to none; occasional ads for professional organizations or publications	Numerous ads for a variety of products and services	Many ads for products, services, and organizations related to the profession or trade
FREQUENCY	Issues published quarterly, semi-annually, or annually	Issues published weekly or monthly	Issues published weekly or monthly
EXAMPLES
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION	A book review or editorial published in a scholarly journal does not fit the criteria for a scholarly article.