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Economics

Types of Sources

Types of Sources
  Scholarly Sources Popular Sources
Primary
  • Peer Reviewed
  • Published in a scholarly journal
  • Contains first-hand reports of research presented by the person or team that did the research.
  • We cite these to reference the results and discussion of their research.
  • Not peer-reviewed
  • Published anywhere
  • E.g. Someone doing their own experiment and posting it on their blog
  • E.g. A news organization conducting their own research and releasing their own data visualizer
  • (In the social sciences and humanities, these can be historical documents, art, speeches, etc. But we don't use these in the sciences)
  • We don't cite these because they haven't been peer reviewed.
Secondary
  • Peer reviewed
  • Published in a scholarly journal
  • Draw on other scholarly publications to come up with their own conclusions
  • There are two main types: "Narrative Reviews" and "Systematic Reviews/Meta Analyses"
  • We cite systematic reviews because they mathematically compare studies on the same topic to determine an overall trend
  • Narrative reviews do not systematically compare studies, only mention them, so we generally cite primary-source studies instead of these.
  • Narrative reviews are generally considered "expert opinion", which is weaker evidence than the results of a study.
  • Reports on and draws conclusions from primary scholarly sources.
  • Published anywhere
  • News article, press release, trade publication, blog post, etc.
  • We don't cite these because if they just report on a primary source, we should go to the primary source itself, and if they provide analysis, that analysis hasn't been peer reviewed.

 

What's a primary source?

Primary sources are original, uninterpreted information.  Scholars analyze primary sources in order to answer research questions. Examples of primary sources vary by discipline.

Examples in the humanities:

  • a novel
  • a painting
  • a theatre performance

Examples in the social sciences:

  • a political, social, or economic theory
  • a dataset
  • the results of an experiment published in a peer-reviewed journal

Example in the sciences:

  • the results of an experiment published in a peer-reviewed journal

Archives & Special Collections Hours

The Archives & Special Collections is located on the second floor of the Collins Memorial Library.

Set up an appointment: We are open to researchers by appointment Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. To make an appointment, email archives@pugetsound.edu or book online. 

We look forward to assisting you!

Primary Sources in Economics

  • Census Bureau
    Latest census bureau data on towns, cities, counties, and states. Includes population, education, income, race, ancestry, housing, and labor. The Census Bureau's datasets can be accessed via their Explore Data site.
  • World Development Indicators
    Data and statistics from the World Bank, covering social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental development indicators.

Puget Sound Archives & Special Collections, Economics

The Archives & Special Collections collects, preserves, and makes available primary source material documenting life at the University as well as collections representing regional, national and international issues.

A small selection of material is listed below, for additional sources, please contact archives@pugetsound.edu.

The Homer T. Bone papers, 1903-1944, document Bone's political career, including his time in the U.S. Senate (1932-1944) as well as his role in the development of public electrical power in the Pacific Northwest, and regional politics.

The Frank Williston papers, 1924-1966, was a professor at the University of Puget Sound prior to WWII, a specialist in Far Eastern affairs, his papers contain material on the political, historical and economic conditions in China, Japan, Manchuria, Malaya, Burma, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Southeast Asia.