| Source Function | Explanation | Examples | Common Locations |
| Background | Factual and noncontroversial information, providing context |
Encyclopedia articles, overviews in books, statistics, historical facts; see CREDO Reference |
Introduction |
| Exhibit/Evidence | Data, observations, objects, artifacts, documents that can be analyzed |
Text of a novel, field observations, focus group transcriptions, questionnaire data, results of an experiment, interview data (primary sources) |
Body, Results section |
| Argument | Critical views from other scholars and commentators; part of the academic conversation | Scholarly articles, books, critical reviews (e.g. literacy criticism), editorials |
Body, sometimes in Introduction or in Literature Review |
| Method (or Theory) | Reference to methods or theories used, usually explicit though may be implicit; approach or research methodology used |
Part of books or articles with reference to theorists (e.g. Foucault, Derrida) or theory (e.g. feminism, post-colonialism, new historicism etc.); information on a research methodology |
Methods section or referenced in Introduction or Body |
A source may serve more than one function. For instance, a journal article could include background information, exhibits, argument and method. However, some sources are focused on a single function. For example, an encyclopedia entry on “Alzheimer's disease” is likely to only serve as background information.
Using Your Sources: The BEAM Research Model (3:25), from Portland State University Library
What am I going to do with my sources? BEAM ask you to consider the function of the source.
Bizup, Joseph. “BEAM: A Rhetorical Vocabulary for Teaching Research-Based Writing.” Rhetoric Review 27.1 (2008): 72-86.
Not what other research libraries are, what they will be.
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