When you sit down to write a research paper or literature review in psychology, one of the first questions you’ll face is: what kinds of sources should I be using? Not all literature is created equal, and choosing the right type for the right purpose can make or break the quality of your review. From foundational textbooks to government reports to peer-reviewed journal articles, each type of literature plays a distinct role in building a well-rounded, credible piece of research. Here’s a clear breakdown of the main types of literature used in psychological research and what each one brings to the table.
Table of Contents
Subject-specific books
Books are often the first port of call when you’re getting to grips with a new research area. In psychology, subject-specific books – including textbooks, edited volumes, and academic monographs – offer comprehensive, structured coverage of a topic. They’re particularly useful for establishing theoretical foundations, understanding the history of a concept, and getting a broad overview before diving into primary research.
That said, books have an important limitation: they take time to publish. By the time a book reaches print, its content may already be a few years old. This is why books work best for background context and theoretical frameworks, rather than for the most current findings. When you’re building the introduction to a literature review, subject-specific books help you set the scene – explaining key concepts and tracing how thinking in a field has developed over time.
It’s also worth noting that academic books targeted at researchers often undergo peer review, meaning expert scrutiny does apply. However, peer-reviewed journal articles are widely considered the gold standard of scientific research, and books are generally secondary to them in evidence hierarchies.
Journal articles
If books provide the map, journal articles provide the terrain. Peer-reviewed journal articles are the backbone of empirical research in psychology. They report original studies, present new data, test hypotheses, and advance theoretical debates – all through a rigorous vetting process before publication.
What makes a journal article peer-reviewed?
Peer review is an evaluation process in which an author’s submitted article is reviewed by a committee of experts in the relevant discipline, who assess it for accuracy, methodological soundness, and contribution to the field. Articles that pass this process meet the expected standards of expertise in psychology. This is what gives peer-reviewed articles their credibility and authority.
A typical empirical journal article in psychology is structured into clear sections: an abstract, introduction (which often includes a mini literature review), a methods section, results, discussion, and references. This structure allows other researchers to evaluate and replicate the work – a cornerstone of scientific integrity.
Types of journal articles
Not all journal articles are the same. It’s useful to distinguish between a few key types:
Empirical articles report on original research – experiments, surveys, observations, or clinical studies. These articles contain original research and are therefore considered primary sources, published in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals.
Review articles synthesize existing research rather than presenting new data. Review articles are sometimes called secondary source articles because they analyze, interpret, and evaluate existing research. Common forms include narrative literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Journals such as Psychological Bulletin and Annual Review of Psychology specialize in publishing these.
Theoretical articles focus on developing, critiquing, or refining psychological theories. A theoretical article may propose an original theory, connect it to previous theories, or critique existing ones and point out gaps or inconsistencies.
For psychology research specifically, databases like PsycINFO – produced by the American Psychological Association – index over five million peer-reviewed records from more than 2,400 journals, making it an essential tool for finding relevant articles.
Grey literature
Grey literature is a category that many students overlook, but it can be an incredibly valuable part of a literature review – especially for applied or policy-relevant topics.
Grey literature is information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels. It includes reports, policy documents, working papers, newsletters, toolkits, government documents, speeches, white papers, and urban plans. It’s typically produced by organizations “on the ground” – government agencies, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, and industry groups – rather than by commercial academic publishers.
Why include grey literature?
The case for including grey literature is strong. Grey literature is often produced more quickly than academic publications, meaning it can reflect more current information or emerging research. It can also provide useful data on local policies and programs, offer first-hand accounts, and help minimize publication bias – the tendency for only studies with positive or statistically significant results to make it into peer-reviewed journals.
Common types of grey literature include research reports, theses, conference proceedings, preprints, working papers, newsletters, technical reports, patents, and datasets. For psychology researchers, the APA’s PsycExtra database is a key resource – it focuses on grey literature in psychology and behavioral sciences, including conference presentations, newsletters, and reports from academic research institutes.
One important caveat: because grey literature typically does not go through peer review, its quality can vary significantly. Always evaluate the credibility of the producing organization and consider any potential biases before including grey literature in your review.
Official publications
Official publications are a specific subset of grey literature worth treating on their own, given their authority and relevance to psychological research.
Official publications can be broadly defined as documents and materials produced by governments and governmental departments in the course of government business. Content ranges from statements of law and policy to government reports and statistics. These publications are especially useful for research intersecting with public health, mental health policy, social welfare, or education.
Examples include reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), national health departments, the United Nations, or bodies like the U.S. National Institutes of Health. These sources are particularly valuable when your research involves epidemiological data, treatment guidelines, or policy frameworks. They carry institutional authority and often report data that simply isn’t available through peer-reviewed channels. The WHO’s official open access repository (IRIS) and the United Nations Digital Library are two widely used sources for accessing this type of material.
Writing aids and style manuals
Writing aids are a different kind of literature – they don’t provide content for your review but are essential tools for producing it. In psychological research, style manuals standardize the format, citation, and overall presentation of academic writing.
The most important writing aid for psychology is the APA Publication Manual. Citations in psychological research follow the referencing style used by the American Psychological Association, specifically the Publication Manual of the APA, Seventh Edition (2020). This manual covers everything from in-text citation format to how to structure headings, report statistical results, and write an abstract.
Other widely used style guides include The Chicago Manual of Style (for most academic texts), the MLA Style Manual (for literary criticism), and the AP Stylebook (for journalism). In psychology, however, APA format is the dominant standard – and using it correctly signals that you understand the conventions of your discipline. Beyond citation style, general writing guides such as Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style remain useful references for clarity and concision in academic prose.
How these types of literature work together
In practice, a strong literature review in psychology draws on several of these source types strategically. Subject-specific books help establish the theoretical backdrop. Peer-reviewed empirical articles provide the core evidence. Review and theoretical articles offer synthesized perspectives and conceptual frameworks. Grey literature and official publications fill in real-world context, policy relevance, and data that may not appear in academic journals. And writing aids ensure the entire document is presented according to professional standards.
For most research, you will use multiple source types – annotated bibliographies, journal articles, books, government reports, conference papers, dissertations, and more. Developing a comprehensive approach to each type and knowing where to search for each one is a key skill for any psychology researcher.
What do you think? When building a literature review, do you tend to rely on one type of source more heavily than others – and do you think that could affect the balance of your review? How might including grey literature or official publications alongside peer-reviewed articles change the conclusions you draw from existing research?
References
- https://psychology.ucsd.edu/undergraduate-program/undergraduate-resources/academic-writing-resources/writing-research-papers/writing-lit-review.html
- https://library.stockton.edu/conducting_research/subject_guides/psychology/peer_review
- https://libguides.tamusa.edu/c.php?g=835884&p=5969259
- https://infoguides.gmu.edu/psychology/journals
- https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/research-assistance/format-type/grey-literature
- https://usq-qld.libguides.com/psychology/find-grey-literature-reports-theses
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_literature
- https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/c.php?g=702858&p=5054833
- https://libguides.qub.ac.uk/psychology/greyliterature
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/clinical-psychology-review/publish/guide-for-authors
- https://wendybelcher.com/writing-advice/manage-peer-reviewed-journal/
- https://libguides.lib.umt.edu/psychology/litreview
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