Start Your Process
IMAGINE YOUR SOURCES: THE INFORMATION LIFECYCLE
The Information Lifecycle models how information about an event, topic or idea might emerge and evolve over time.
Note that this timeline is just a starting point to give you a general sense -- the transmission of information is not linear, and can look very different across different disciplines!
SCHOLARLY SOURCES
Scholarly sources are written by experts on a particular subject (for example, a professor or other researcher). They also go through an extra process of review and approval by a group of other experts before they can be published. Usually, scholarly articles are written for an audience of other scholars. The chart below compares the characteristics of scholarly vs. popular (non-scholarly) sources: 
| POPULAR | SCHOLARLY | |
|---|---|---|
| author | Usually staff writers and/or journalists | Experts on the topic -- usually researchers, scholars and/or professors |
| audience | General public (for "popular" consumption) | Other experts (and students) in the field |
| editing & review | Editor(s); generally concerned with grammar, style, etc., with some fact-checking | Other experts ("peer reviewed"); generally concerned with quality, thoroughness of research, strength of argument, etc. |
| style & design |
Reasonably brief, typically uses colloquial if not informal language. Often illustrated with graphics, sidebars and other aesthetic elements. Sometimes accompanied by ads. |
More extensive in length; tends to be more formal and uses specialized vocabulary. Illustrations and charts are used only when furthering content. |
| goal or purpose | To entertain; and/or, to share general information | To share findings, advance and argument and/or engage with other scholars |
| sources | Few or none; if sources are used, there may not be formal citations. | Typically uses many sources, cited in detailed bibliographies, footnotes and/or endnotes |
| examples | Time Magazine; Sports Illustrated; New Yorker; Boston Globe | Annual Review of Political Science; American Historical Review; Sociology of Education |
It's important to keep in mind that scholarly sources are not always the best or only source available to you -- it depends on what information you are trying to find:
- Due to the time required for a scholarly article to be researched, written, go through the peer review process and then be published, it can be difficult to find scholarly articles published about recent events, discoveries, etc.. You should expect 1-2 years between the time an event occurs or a discovery is made and the time academic research on that event begins to be published, with some exceptions!
- There are also plenty of reliable sources (like the Oxford Classical Dictionary) which are not technically "scholarly" by the classic definition, yet are highly respected sources which are academic in nature.
PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES
A primary source is a first-hand witness to a historical event or period (that is, it was originally created at that point in history). Primary sources offer a first-hand perspective which is untouched by hindsight, subsequent events, or modern knowledge. They provide insights about the actions, motivations, material culture, etc. involved in a historical period, and help us to think about the ancient world as it was experienced in antiquity.
Unlike with secondary sources, the value of primary sources lies in their proximity to the event rather than a particular publication venue and/or authority (though this can also play a role in your interpretation of the source). For this reason, primary sources may include a combination of scholarly, popular, unpublished, and other kinds of sources, even objects.
Secondary sources are second-hand witnesses -- they provide descriptions and/or analysis of historical events and documents after the fact. Secondary sources usually draw their information from primary sources, but add a layer of interpretation, and often rely upon the kind of understanding of historical periods and/or events that only becomes clear sometime later. 
| PRIMARY | SECONDARY | |
|---|---|---|
| AUTHOR | A first-hand witness to a historical event or period | A second-hand witness who interprets first-hand information using later understanding of events |
| DATE | Typically, but not always, published in or near the relevant time period or event. Exceptions can include memoirs or compilations, translations, etc. published at a later date. | Typically removed in time from the relevant period/event |
| ORIGINAL PURPOSE | Varies widely. Typically not intentionally created for sake of history or research. | Varies; usually, to convey information or analysis |
| RESEARCH USE |
Offers first-hand perspectives untouched by hindsight or modern knowledge |
Offers descriptions, and/or analysis of historical events after the fact; may also offer synthesis of first-hand information. |
| PUBLICATION FORMAT | Varies; can include nearly anything from an object to a scholarly article [if from the appropriate period] | Typically "published" sources -- books, journal articles, magazines/newspapers |
| EXAMPLES | NYT article from April 1912 [Titanic], 1963 book on the USSR [Cold War], George Washington's collected papers [Colonial America/Revolution] | American Historical Review; current NYT articles; a book published in 2018 |
