When you begin your research, you may find that you're not getting a lot of "scholarly," or peer-reviewed sources (also known as academic articles). This might be because your topic is too recent! The Information Cycle shows the timeline for when things are published related to an event. If you're not finding as many scholarly articles and books, consider broadening your topic a bit. 

Note for the sciences: In the sciences, research studies often go to a scholarly journal first and then to the news media (if they're published in the news.) 

Primary sources are first hand accounts of a time in history. These can take a variety of forms like: 

• diaries, correspondence, ships' logs
• original documents e.g. birth certificates, trial transcripts
• biographies, autobiographies, manuscripts
• interviews, speeches, oral histories
• case law, legislation, regulations, constitutions
• government documents, statistical data, research reports
• a journal article reporting NEW research or findings
• creative art works, literature
• newspaper advertisements and reportage and editorial/opinion pieces

Secondary sources are sources that analyze, synthesize, evaluate, interpret, or even restate information that the author has researched. These are most likely what you're using when you write a research paper. Some examples include: 

• journal articles that comment on or analyse research
• textbooks
• dictionaries and encyclopedias
• books that interpret, analyse
• political commentary
• biographies
• dissertations
• newspaper editorial/opinion pieces
• criticism of literature, art works or music

Often times you might hear your professors tell you that they want an article that is either

peer reviewed; 

academic; 

scholarly; and/or

refereed

These are all actually the same thing. 

Check out this short video to learn more about what peer review means: 

Popular Sources
Works that are published by staff or freelance writers who do not have to have their work peer reviewed before publication. These can be useful for community perspectives or popular opinion as examples in a paper, though they should be supported by more scholarly evidence. 

vs. 

Scholarly Sources
Works that have gone through a more detailed approval process for publication - usually peer review for articles or through an editor at a University Press. Because they have gone through editors and/or peer review, these tend to be less likely to contain mistakes and are written by experts in the field for others researching in the same field.