Reference book articles, or academic encyclopedias, are a great place to start.

Read reference for:

• background knowledge
• theoretical terms
• an overview of the history of a subject or issues
• key players
• leads to more information.

Read books, book chapters, and essays in anthologies for:

• in-depth analysis
• history
• opinion
• theory
• multiple perspectives

Read newspaper articles for:

• a daily account of events and issues on a local, regional, national or international scale
• analysis of current issues
• editorial and opinion pieces
• business, environment and science news

Read magazine articles for:

• more in-depth discussion of current events and issues in the news
• longer articles written for an interested audience in lay-person language on technology, health, science, business and more
• illustrations: charts, pictures and graphs

View and listen to multimedia for:

• documentaries on current science, engineering and business topics
• informed discussion and analysis
• case studies & personal accounts
• background information

Read trade articles to learn about:

• news briefs or overviews of current research and tools
• current trends and updates in the profession
• professional terminology
• opinion on governmental policy, current issues, and more
• professional development
• to find leads to more information on your subject

Read scholarly articles and books to learn about:

• current research
• in-depth analysis
• metareviews of the literature
• professional terminology
• find data, statistics, charts, and other factual information
• to get a sense of the scope of the scholarly conversation on your subject
• to find leads to more information on your subject