Not all articles are the same. On the "Articles" tab of this guide there will be information about scholarly vs. popular articles, but on this page, I want to tell you about "editorials" or "opinion pieces." Most articles in the library databases are just telling you the facts whether about the news or about an academic a scholar has done. An editorial article is taking a position and making an argument to convince you why they are right. An editorial about defunding the police because of police violence is different from a news article reporting on protests that happened in Wisconsin the other day after a police shooting. Most publications try to be very clear about separating news articles from editorial or opinion pieces.
In the image below of the New York Times home page, you can see that they designate which sections have "opinion" articles as opposed to "news" articles. The news articles should not be trying to persuade you, they should just present the facts. Editorials are stating an opinion - you can even see it in the headline.
Even academic, peer reviewed journals may include editorials or opinion pieces, but they should be clearly distinguished from the scholarly studies presented in the journal. You can see how this is done below in the snapshot from Contemporary Justice Review.
As you select sources for your research papers, you'll want to pay attention to whether you are choosing a news article, a scholarly study or an opinion piece. Editorials or opinion pieces can be helpful for understanding the various arguments on an issue, but they would not provide as strong support for your argument as evidence presented in a scholarly study or an example found in a news article. However, an opinion article might cite evidence or statistics that you could track down and use in your paper. Make sure that the author is providing sources for the evidence/statistics they are citing, so you can look up the original source and confirm that what they are saying is correct.
Here are some of the library's online reference resources which can help you get some background information on your topic. These resources are available on and off campus.
