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FP Bibliography and Source Evaluation Library Assignment

This FP Course Guide provides instructions and resources for completing the FP Bibliography & Source Evaluation Library assignment.

Types of Sources

What is a "Source Type"?

Information comes from more than just books and journals. You may find a variety of source types for your paper. You can access the following types of sources through the library catalog and databases:

  • Books & eBooks
  • Data
  • Films
  • Music
  • Newspapers (historical and current)
  • Magazines
  • Art
  • and more!

In academic research, these sources are further classified into type categories based on the information that is being provided and who the information is intended for. The most common source types are:

  • Primary or Secondary
  • Scholarly, Popular, or Trade

How to Tell Which Type You Need

Primary or Secondary?

Primary Sources: First-hand accounts or documents that were created at the time of the study (or later). Primary sources can be: Original documents (diaries, scrapbooks, clothing, YouTube videos), creative works (poetry, art, photography), or original research and data (oral history interviews, case studies, experiments). Primary sources can be published or unpublished. Secondary sources are works that interpret or analyze, often written a significant time after the event. Secondary sources can be scholarship including and referencing primary sources, review and critiques (literature reviews, book reviews), or summarized articles of other published research.