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Engineering and Physics Research Guide: Where Do I Start?

This guide is designed to assist the reseacher with reference works, journals / books (print and electronic) and Internet resources.

Recognizing Library Materials

1. Scholarly articles are written by professionals in the field

           -- authors are subject matter experts, the information and data has been researched & reviewed

      

2. Non-scholarly articles are written in popular magazines

           -- information is not researched

           -- articles are often biased and based on opinions

Science Magazine  

3. Trade publications cover business trends, new products or techniques, and organizational news

             -- written by staff or contributing authors

Example: Physics Today

4. Primary Sources are original documents or records of events described by someone who participated or witnessed the events.  For  example: government census, historical documents, statistical data, or manuscripts.

5. Secondary Sources are works that have been analyzed, an interpretation or review of the original work. For example: reviews, monographs, handbooks or literary criticisms.