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. Where do I search?, and 3.First Search@UW search. Use the arrow commands below the media player to move on to the next video.
We've learned that different sources are created with different audiences in mind to fulfill different purposes. Taking time to consider a source's author, audience, and purpose will help you understand the information shared in the source and use it appropriately. Complete the activity below to practice differentiating popular and scholarly source types based on their author, audience, and purpose.
Without reading or watching each source in full, review the 5 source examples below. Make note of details that point to each source's author, audience, and purpose.
Tip: Each example link will open in a new window. Once you've opened all the sources, compare them. What are the similarities and differences in the ways the sources are formatted and made available?
After you've decided where each example source falls on the Source Spectrum, Arrange the source tiles on the spectrum. Once you're satisfied with how you ordered the examples sources from popular to scholarly, check your answer for feedback.
Discuss or reflect on the following questions:
In 2016 researchers from Stanford University published a study that found most teens couldn’t tell the difference between news sources and advertisements.
The Researchers conclude that skills like investigating a source’s creator and comparing information across multiple sources are essential practices for responsible digital citizenship.
(transcript of audio available on segment webpage).
UWM College-level Research Tutorial 2020 by Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.