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Masters in Agribusiness Management

Source Types

Differences between Sources

  Academic Trade Popular
 
Content Original research and experimentation Industry/trade trends, products, and news Current events, opinions, and general information
Look Plain, long articles, may contain charts and graphs Glossy, contains photos and industry/trade related advertisements Glossy, contains color photos and everyday product advertisements
Authors Experts in their field Industry specialists or staff writers Journalists/reporters, staff or freelance writers
Audience Professors, researchers, students Members of the particular industry or trade Anyone
Language Academic and technical Jargon of the industry Written in a language for anyone to understand
Documentation Footnotes or bibliography Occasionally contain cited sources  References may be mentioned in text

Research Articles

Research articles are also often known as scientific or peer-reviewed articles. If the article is NOT written by the person or group who did the research, it is NOT a peer-reviewed or scientific article. Research articles are important for knowing what new discoveries have been made. This is why it is important to use recent articles, since they will be the first things published on a new scientific development. 

Here's a quick overview of how to identify these journal articles:

  • written by the scientist(s) who actually did the research
  • follows a specific format 
    • abstract
    • introduction
    • materials & methods
    • results
    • conclusions
    • references 
  • assumes reader already knows background information about the topic has been evaluated by experts
  • Tip:  Look for a statement about when the article was accepted for publication. Most peer-reviewed articles will include one.
 
Example of a Research Article

 

Review Articles

Review articles are written when authors read and summarize research on a topic. Review articles are useful for learning about what kind of research has been done previously on a topic.
 
Here's a quick overview of how to identify these articles:
  • current state of knowledge in the field
  • recent developments 
  • limitations of previous research
  • suggestions for future research
Example of a review article

 

Finding Research

Economic Journals

Trade Journals and Websites

Research Resources

Competition and Industry Information

Books and eBooks

Getting Help

RefWorks

RefWorks is a new way to collect, manage, and organize research.  You can read, annotate, organize, and cite your research as well as collaborate by sharing collections.

From simple bibliographies to papers formatted with in-text citations or footnotes, RefWorks handles it all. ​To learn more about RefWorks, use our RefWorks research guide.

To create a RefWorks account:

  1. Go to the link below and click Create account
  2. Fill in your information, making sure to use your DelVal email address.  
  3. Go to your inbox and click the email link to complete the activation process. 

Already have an account? Just go to the link below and click "Log In"

Graduate Instruction and Research Librarian

Profile Photo
Elise Georgulis
Contact:
Graduate Instruction and Research Librarian
elise.georgulis@delval.edu
Graduate students, please email to set up an appointment.