Types of Publications

The results you will find in both ABI/Inform and Business Source Premier will fall primarily into three categories:

Scholarly: Articles are written by experts in the field and typically undergo a peer-review process, where the article is evaluated by other experts for accuracy and reliability in its claims or findings. Scholarly journals are narrow in scope and focus on a specific field of study or expertise. They typically publish research articles and are written by and for experts. The articles use formal language and jargon; there are no ads or glossy pictures, and articles will have formal reference lists. 

Trade: Articles are written by experts in the field or journalists who specialize in reporting on that particular industry. Trade publications focus on providing news and updates for professionals in a specific field or industry. They often look more like a traditional magazine than a popular journal, but are tailored to a professional audience in a defined market segment. The articles will use professional jargon, but may be written in a less formal tone.

Popular: Articles are typically written by journalists for a general audience, seeking to inform a wide array of people about many different issues. Popular periodicals may have a specific focus on a topic or a certain group of people, but they do not use formal language and will typically avoid jargon -- unless they are specifically defining what such terms mean for their readers. Publications are supported by advertising and contain many ads.

Open Web: These are websites, blogs, etc. that are not affiliated with a news source or a resource through the library. Company websites can be especially helpful for business research, especially if you are researching a public company. You can find reports and other information about company performance on their investor relations page in that case. Be sure to fully investigate the open web resources that you use, and have a good reason for using them, especially in academic work. Because anyone can put pretty much anything on the internet, you need to verify their sources/where their information came from. If a website is presenting facts, figures, and statistics, you should trace them back to the original source and ensure it is reliable. 

How do I use these resources?

If you are writing a formal research paper, you will primarily want to use articles from scholarly journals to support your thesis. Journals, however, can take a while to publish articles on current or trending topics, due to the in-depth nature of research and the peer-review process. 

When writing an less formal paper on a new or emerging topic, you may need to rely on articles from trade or popular periodicals, which have a shorter publication timeline and a less-rigorous review process, allowing for more timely coverage of current events. 

NOTE: You can apply filters in both databases to include or exclude all three types of publications under "Source Type" in ABI/Inform and "Publication Type" in Business Source Premier.