Skip to Main Content

#Energy, Manufacturing, and Trades Management

This research guide is designed to help Bachelor of Applied Science students complete information research tasks.

Types of Articles

Look closely at the descriptions of the various database collections to determine the information types and subject areas to be found. 

Credible sources from popular mainstream publications are within the database collections. Major news outlets, trade publications, governmental documents are a few of the information types you will find. 

Background and overview source types are helpful. Encyclopedias and other reference materials help researchers find context within an area of research. 

There are two main types of scholarly articles you'll come across in the databases: literature reviews and empirical studies. Empirical studies are primary sources, published in journals, that report on the study results.

Literature Review vs Empirical Study

Literature Review

 Empirical Study
Evaluates or condenses previously-published material. Reports on new, original research.

Look for:

  • Summarizing previously-published content.
  • Defining or clarifying an issue.
  • Identifying and explaining a problem.
  • Suggesting next steps of future research.

 

Literature Review Example:

Generations Journal Cover 2011

Newberg, A. B. (2011). Spirituality and the Aging Brain. Generations: Journal of the American   Society on Aging, 35(2), 83–91.  https://www.jstor.org/stable/26555779
[See the full article.]

 

Look for:

  • Abstract
  • Methodology
    • Participants/Subjects, Instruments, etc may be mentioned.
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion

 

  Empirical Study Example:

PCN Journal cover

Semiz, U. M., Basoglu, C., Ebrinc, S., & Cetin, M. (2008). Nightmare disorder, dream anxiety, and subjective sleep quality in patients with borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, 62(1), 48-55. [See the full article.]

 




Sampling: Journal Articles