Professional sources

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These are not real academic sources, but represent higher quality contents among the world of non-academic sources. It is not unusual for such sources to be cited in first-year or second-year college papers, or in certain fields like business, literature studies, or media studies. These sources are written by academic experts, or at least by people with some degree of expertise and professional knowledge in their professional fields, and are written at a college level. They are written by experts for a non-expert but educated audience.

1 Characteristics

Author
The author is either (1) a trained academic expert in the field; or (2) a professional expert, i.e., someone who has years of experience and leadership in a profession, such as business, government, journalism, or education.
Audience
The intended audience consists of educated readers, usually with some background knowledge of the subject. This can include those working in a particular profession, for whom the piece is written.
Information
The information is of a higher quality and precision. It may be primary or secondary information, or both. It may be primary in the sense that it includes the writer's own expert analysis, or information from investigative research (e.g., news articles). It may be largely secondary, e.g., if the writer is qualified to read and interpret the academic research and explain it to a more general (but educated) audience).
Quality control
If it is a media outlet, they try to hire expert journalists (who have expertise and experience in their area), and they have editors who likewise have professional expertise. For books, the writer is an academic or professional expert, and the editor has enough expertise to oversee the book's publication.

2 Types

2.1 Professional trade books

Trade books are books that are sold commercially, e.g., in regular bookstores and online stores. That is, these are not strictly academic books, which are written solely for academic and technical readers. Professional quality trade books are those written by scientists or scholars to a more general but educated audience, namely, to those with a specific interest in the topic. These include books by academic writers who wish to reach a wider audience, and books by business or professinal experts in various fields.

2.1.1 Academic authors

These are books by academic experts. These are written for readers who are not experts, but are educated enough to understand the level of writing; these are generally written at a college reading level for an educated audience (who have a basic background knowledge of the field). Examples include:

  • Stephen Pinker' books on psychology, language, and other issues, e.g., The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works
  • Deborah Tannen's books on gender and communication issues in relationships or in workplaces like You Just Don't Understand and Talking from 9 to 5.
  • Books by scientists to educate the public; e.g., Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time.


2.1.2 Business and professional authors

These are often popular and even best-selling books by business experts or professionals in various professional fields. These may also include books on business related topics by writers with a strong academic background. For example:

  • Nudge
  • The Forty-hour Work Week
  • Hook Point


2.2 News outlets

This category includes news outlets that are known for professional quality journalism, investigative reporting, and expert analysis of news and current events.

Name / site Format & scope Location
ABC News (US) Traditional nightly TV news US
ABC News (Australia) Traditional TV news Australia
Al Jazeera TV news Qatar
The Associated Press Wire service US
The Atlantic Magazine; commentary & analysis of news, culture and society US
BBC News Traditional TV news UK
CBS News Traditional TV news US
CNN TV news; general news US
Deutsche Welle Radio & TV news / TV news Germany
Foreign Affairs Magazine; in-depth analysis of global affairs US (published by a famous thinktank, the Council on Foreign Relations)
The Globe and Mail Newspaper Canada
The Guardian Newspaper UK
The Hill US political news & commentary US
Huffingtonpost Magazine format; commentary and analysis of US & international news, politics, society, and culture US
NBC News Traditional TV news US
The New Yorker Magazine; commentary & analysis of news, culture and society US
National Public Radio Radio news US
New York Times Newspaper US
Reuters Wire service Germany
Politico US political news & commentary US
South China Morning Post Newspaper Hong Kong
Time magazine Magazine US
The Times of India Newspaper India
The Wall Street Journal Newspaper; US & international financial & general news US
The Washington Post Newspaper US

The following are foreign language news sources from around the world.

  1. Le Monde (France]
  2. Sverige Tillskott (Sweden)
  3. El País (Spain)
  4. Frankfurter Allgemeine (Germany)
  5. CNTV (China)
  6. Deutsche Welle (Germany)
  7. Der Spiegel (Germany)
  8. Yomiuri (Japan)
  9. RT (Russia)
  10. France24 (France)
  11. Niews (Netherlands)
  12. De Telegraaf (Netherlands)

The following are news aggregators, which do not do original reporting, but merely aggregate or collect trending stories from many news outlets.

  1. Google News
  2. Yahoo News

The following provide commentary and analysis from a specific political perspective. They are not intended as general news sources, but as sources of (generally) intelligent political commentary.

  1. The New Republic (US; liberal)
  2. The Nation (US; liberal)
  3. National Review (US; conservative)
  4. The Weekly Standard (US; conservative)


2.3 Professional journals

Professional journalsare more specialized journals, written by academic or professional experts in a field, for others who are working in such a field or a related area; or for others with a serious interest in the area. They may have some features in common with more academic sources, such as a tendency for authors to cite more academic sources, use formal citation systems, and to explain applications of research findings. These are often published by professional organizations that serve people in a particular professional area. Professional and trade journals are generally not sold in general bookstores or online stores, but are known to those who work in such fields (or related areas).

2.3.1 Business

2.3.2 Education

  1. The Chronicle of Higher Education https://www.chronicle.com
  2. Inside Higher Ed http://www.insidehighered.com
  3. Times Higher Education https://www.timeshighereducation.com/

2.3.3 Psychology

These are also for those in various fields who need a practical understanding of psychology topics and research.

  1. Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com
  2. Observer https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer (psychology)

2.3.4 Science

  • BioTechniques
  • Genetic Engineering News


2.4 Trade magazines and special interest periodicals

Trade magazines or trade journals are written for people working in a particualr occupation. Professional and trade journals are generally not sold in general bookstores or online stores, but are known to those who work in such fields (or related areas). Special interest magazines include specialized popular periodicals written by professionals in a particular field, for [1] others in the field (those working in the field, or those interested in the field) who are not necessarily experts, and [2] people who may not be working in the field, but have an interest in it. This includes field-specific news magazines.

See also: Wikipedia categories of professional & trade periodicals


2.4.1 Business & financial news

Name / site Format & scope Location
Bloomberg TV news US
Business Insider Magazine US
Business Standard Newspaper India
CNBC TV news US
The Economist Magazine US
The Financial Times Newspaper UK
Forbes Magazine US
Fortune Magazine US
Market Watch Magazine US
New York Times (business section) Newspaper US
The Wall Street Journal Newspaper US


2.4.2 Technology & IT news


See also: Wikipedia list of computer magazines


2.4.3 Science news


2.5 Others

Advertising
  • Advertising Age
  • Ad Week
Arts and cultural industries
Construction industry
  • Cranes Today
  • GeoXchange
Electronics & consumer electronics
  • Popular Mechanics
  • Twice
  • EDN
  • EE Times
  • Electronic News
Fashion industry
  • Women's Wear Daily
Film industry
  • American Cinematographer
  • BackStage
  • Boxoffice Magazine
  • CinemaEditor
  • Creative COW
  • Film International
  • Filmmaker
  • fps magazine
  • Film Comment
  • Film Daily
  • Film Quarterly
  • Harrison's Reports
  • The Hollywood Reporter
  • indieWire
  • MovieMaker
  • Playback
  • Variety
Financial services industry
  • Citywire
  • Financial Adviser
  • Investment Adviser
  • Investment Week
  • Money Management
  • Money Marketing
  • Global Banking And Finance Review
Food and drink
Gaming industry
  • Coinslot
  • Game Industry Report Magazine
Law
  • Law Practice Magazine
  • Legal Week
Media
  • Campaign
  • MediaWeek
  • New Media Age
  • Revolution
Manufacturing trades
  • Advanced Manufacturing
  • Pulp and Paper
  • Surplus Record Machinery & Equipment Directory
Music industry
  • Billboard
  • CashBox Magazine
  • Music Week
  • Radio & Records
Packaging
  • Packaging Digest
  • Packaging Machinery Technology
  • Packaging World
Publishing and book trade
  • Booklist
  • The Hard Copy Observer
  • Library Journal
  • Publishers Weekly
  • School Library Journal
Retailing
  • Private Label