This session is designed to be different than other library sessions you may have attended. We will focus on reading and experiencing a text, and discuss points relating to information consumption and synthesis such as
My goal by going over some of these concepts with you today is
Today the plan is:
Let's Get Started:
What is a scholarly article, and how do you read one?
Scholarly articles
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Scholarly (peer-reviewed, academic) |
|
Author(s) |
Subject matter expert; often with advanced education (e.g., PhD) or working at a university |
|
Verification |
Reviewed by an editorial board or other subject matter experts (peers) |
|
Audience & language |
Researchers, scholars, students; language is academic or technical |
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Content |
Reports original research; builds on previous knowledge |
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Cites sources? |
Always cites other research |
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How do you know if you have a credible, reliable, relevant source? Consider the following:
Your resource doesn't necessarily have to meet all of these criteria. In fact, some of the texts today may not fit within this conventional idea of "credible".
Reading articles
Scholarly articles often follow a similar format. This makes it easy to hop around the article and gather the most important information. Here are some tips for getting started.
Authority is Constructed and Contextual
Information, in any format, is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising and disseminating information vary, and the resulting produce reflects these differences (ACRL par. 13).
Source: Project Cora - https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/information-spectrum
Tips for Reading Scholarly Articles
Adapted from handouts by J. M Loyer &M. MacMillan
Check for relevance – is the article useful for what you’re doing? You will likely never find the perfect article that’s exactly on the topic you have in mind – but you will find ones that are close and useful because:
Print out the article –studies show that reading in print is better for comprehension and retention.
Skim to get the general idea – review introduction, headings, conclusion to see if the article will suit your needs
Get comfortable and carve out a little time – reading for depth takes focus and practice, and you’ll probably have to read the article more than once
Read with a pen in your hand – mark up interesting points, points, odd words, circle key concepts
Read the article by having a dialogue with the author – “really?” “prove it!” “are you sure about that?”- constantly question the author(s)
Practice slow reading – mostly we don’t read, we skim - summarize paragraphs as you go, read the article aloud to slow down
Note unfamiliar words and concepts – look them up on your second read through
Make connections as you go – note what the article reminds you of, what thoughts it provokes, how it matches or contradicts your experience – these connections are critical to your understanding of texts.
Draw things out –stats, tables, connections or relationships can make more sense if you diagram them
Consider approaches and limitations– if you started with the same question(s) as the author – how would you approach finding the answers? What’s missing from the article – what questions does it leave you with?
Discuss the article with others – students identified this as a very useful strategy for getting the most from articles
A wise person once said to me that reading academically is using a different muscle than reading in bursts, which these days, is what most of us are used to. Let's talk about slow reading and try it out, and see if it makes a different in how we understand and relate to certain texts.
I am going to break everyone out into groups. In your groups, try to address the following questions:
AM Class
PM Class
Scholarship is a Conversation
Source: From “Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students,” NCSU Libraries, (CC-BY-NC-SA license)
Class Outline:
During this session we will talk about:
Let's Get Started:
What is it?
An annotated bibliography is a list of references with a brief description
Things to Remember
To avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing, remember these five important points:
1) Your paraphrased text should be significantly different from the original (i.e. don't just change a few words here and there)
2) You must change the structure of the sentence or paragraph you are paraphrasing, not just the words.
3) If you use anyone else's words verbatim (word for word) you need to put quotation marks around it.
4) Use proper citation methods to give credit for the ideas, opinions, or theories you are presenting.
5) Check that you have preserved the original meaning of the text in your paraphrased version
What do I need to include?
An annotated bibliography entry consists of two components: the Citation and the Annotation. For this assignment, use APA style format (7th ed.)
Generally, an annotation is approximately 100-300 words in length (one paragraph). However, your professor may have different expectations so it is recommended that you clarify the assignment guidelines.
An annotation may include the following information:
Examples of Annotated Bibliographies and how to format
Includes definition, samples and examples for APA, MLA and more
Video: (Carleton University) Writing an Annotated Bibliography
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Scholarly (peer-reviewed, academic) |
Non-scholarly (popular) |
Author(s) |
Subject matter expert; often with advanced education (e.g., PhD) or working at a university |
Journalists, professional, or creative writers; may be crowd generated content |
Verification |
Reviewed by an editorial board or other subject matter experts (peers) |
Reviewed by an editor (sometimes) |
Audience & language |
Researchers, scholars, students; language is academic or technical |
General public; uses everyday, easy to understand language |
Content |
Reports original research; builds on previous knowledge |
News, and practical information, creative works |
Cites sources? |
Always cites other research |
Occasionally, but not required |
How do you know if you have a credible, reliable, relevant source? Consider the following:
Your resource doesn't necessarily have to meet all of these criteria.
As a group, take a look at your assigned source and discuss the following questions for the next 10 minutes.
Group 1: UNDRIP 15 years on: Genuine truth and reconciliation requires legislative reform
When assessing the quality of a source, here are some questions to consider:
Things to remember when using Library Search:
Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.
Use the pin icon to save books and articles.
Use the filters on the right. You will use Availability, Resource Type, and Date filters most often.
Some items won't be available. You can request unavailable items using interlibrary loan.
When viewing an item record, scroll down to the Get It or Full Text section to get the item.
You can search in a way to combine or omit different terms by telling the search engine exactly what you want…this can help you save some time (and frustration!)
Use quotation marks to keep phrases together - "Métis art"
Use AND to combine search terms - canad* AND Métis AND "self-government"
Use OR to connect two or more similar terms - "Métis faith" OR "Métis spirituality"
Use wild cards to substitute a letter or suffix with a symbol - canad*
Google Scholar is another great way to find peer-reviewed/scholarly material. Google scholar has a nifty citation chaining function. The Cited by function will forward you to indexed scholarly material that has cited an article that you may be interested in. The Related Articles link will direct you to similar articles that may have the same metadata or keywords.
The Advanced Search is found by clicking the menu icon (top left).
Besides providing links to articles in MRU databases, Google Scholar links to online repositories that contain articles the author has been allowed to upload. Academia.edu and ResearchGate are among the repositories searched by Google Scholar.
By clicking on the Settings icon, you can select library links to show library access for up to 5 libraries (type in Mount Royal and click on save). If you are logged into MRU library, links should automatically populate if you are running a Google search in another window.
Note: Google uses different commands: ~; -; +; but AND/OR also works
If you are searching Google (not Google Scholar), you can also limit your search to show specific websites. Eg:
Audio Production Rooms and Space - (MRU Libraries) Podcasting guides, recommendations for software, contact for support.
MRU Podcasting Guide - provides guidance as to where to find images/audio for your podcase, how to share your podcast and how to cite sources within your podcast.
Plan a Podcast (UNC University Libraries) - This worksheet can help you develop the concept for a new podcast and develop an episode script.
Create a Script for Your Digital Project (University of Guelph McLaughlin Library) - A guide with information about how to write a script for a podcast, digital story, animated video or live action video. Also check out their supplementary script template.
Podcast Scripting: How Do I Write a Podcast Script? (The Podcast Host) - An introduction to different podcast scripting methods, including word-by-word scripts, episode plans, and rough section headings and bullet points. Find out which works best for you!
How to Write a Podcast Script (Castos) - A quick introduction to script outline templates and tips for how to make your delivery engaging.
Audio Production Rooms and Space - (MRU)Podcasting guides, recommendations for software, contact for support.
Undergraduate Research Guide - Poster Presentations - advice on tools, design, samples
Noun Project - stock photos and icons
How to Create Storyboards (University of Houston)
How to make a Visual Essay (Owlcation, 2018)
Digital Storytelling Examples and Tools
How to make your own animated video
Digital Storytelling with Power Point
Resources for Images
Wikipedia's Public Domain Images
MRU Indigenous Studies Guide - Archival Collections and Images
Digital Essay Example
Smelting in the Sudbury Basin: Impacts on Tree Health in n'Daki Menan