Social Media: Social media posts occur at the time of an event, but they have not been vetted by experts.
New Outlets: Newspapers and the online counterparts report in the days after the event. An editor marks for style, but rushed articles may contain inacuracies.
Magazines: Magazines and their online counterparts come out weeks after the event, and like newspapers have minimal editorial oversight.
Scholarly Articles: It takes a couple of months to a year or more scholarly analysis to undergo peer review; however, you can trust that the editorial team has fully vetted the information.
Scholarly Books: Typically scholarly books take at least a year to be published, but you can trust that the editorial team has fully vetted the information.
Primary: First hand observations; often recorded near the timeframe of event; Consist of facts with little interpretation; diaries and memoirs; original scientific research.
Secondary: Offer context and interpretation of data and events; often produced well after an event takes place; biographies; scholarly papers and books that interpret facts; documentaries.