Please watch the following video (2:53) on strategies for evaluating information sources.
In university, you'll often have to draw on scholarly
or academic sources to back up your points of view and perspectives
there are a lot of different options, like journal articles, rep
orts, books, book chapters, and more. It can get tricky making sense of all of these terms. This video will show you how.
So, what's a scholarly article and why is it so important? A scholarly article is a document written by an academic
for other experts and academics, to communicate new information and findings or arguments.
Scholarly articles are unique because of the peer-review process that makes them happen.
Before an article is published, several other experts in a field review the
findings of the article to make sure that the research is accurate and that
the methods are appropriate. This process isn't fool proof and
it can take a long time. But it has been the main process underpinning academic research
since the first publication in 1665.
Peer reviewed articles are sometimes
tricky to find, but they generally include the following: the name
of the journal, which you should double check to ensure is legitimate.
Author details, including where the author works, their degrees, and an email address or alternative way to contact them.
Keywords and an abstract describing the study
in question; while this varies from discipline to
discipline, there is a recognizable structure to a journal article
including an introduction, a research question or problem,
a methodology, and evidence of findings.
In addition to a conclusion or summary. And finally
there are also citations and reference lists, pointing to other works that the author
consulted prior to publishing their own findings.
Scholarly sources also include books and book chapters.
A scholarly book is also written by an expert in a field, and is usually
published by a reputable publisher, like a university press.
Scholarly books are sometimes written by a single author, or written by multiple authors. In other cases, one
or more editors join the writing of many different authors into an edited collection of essays. In scholarly books
you'll also find a structured way of writing, citations,
and references.
It can be really frustrating working with
all the different types of information out there. If you ever need a helping
hand, just reach out to a librarian. We're here to help.