This module introduces scholarly sources and search tools. Finding and interpreting scholarly sources is challenging, but it gets easier to do when you understand the context of scholarly sources: why they exist, where to find them, and what kind of information they can give you.The content and activities on this page are designed to develop the knowledge and skills that are key to this stage of college-level research:
Knowledge:
Skills:
Watch the three videos: 1. What are scholarly sources?, 2. Is it Scholarly?, and 3.First Search@UW search. Use the arrow commands below the media player to move on to the next video.
It can be difficult to identify scholarly sources. Not all scholarly sources look the same, and popular and scholarly sources can have similar characteristics (citing scholarly research, for example). Similarly, both popular and scholarly sources can be biased or have errors. Determining whether a source is popular or scholarly involves reviewing a variety of source characteristics, time, and practice.
There are two sources linked below. Both of these sources are trustworthy and could be used to support research, but one is scholarly and the other is popular. Practice spotting the differences between the two articles linked below. Without reading either source, try to note each article's author, audience, purpose. Pay attention to number and types of sources each article cites. Compare vocabulary of the two sources and the type of visuals the articles feature.
Next, match the source characteristics listed on the left with the appropriate source type, popular or scholarly. To do this, drag the tiles on the left to the correct placeholders in either the "Scholarly Source" section (the top set of drop zones) or the "Popular Source" section (the bottom set of drop zones). Review the sample popular and scholarly sources above for clues.
Discuss with classmates or reflect on your own:
Research conducted at public universities (like UWM) is funded by tax dollars, but very few Americans have access to the published results of this research (scholarly sources). In this video, Dr. Erica Stone discusses the academic publishing cycle and who this system leaves out.
After watching this TED Talk video, reflect on the question below.
Discuss with classmates or reflect on your own:
UWM College-level Research Tutorial 2020 by Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System is licensed under a
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