You have been asked to write a digital magazine feature article. Within this article, you will:
Why using good sources matter...
When you endeavor to find sources related to a topic of interest for your academic writing, you are demonstrating a number of skills
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
A scholarly publication contains articles written by experts in a particular field. The primary audience of these articles is other experts. ... Academics use various terms and language to describe this: "peer-reviewed", vetted academic, or "refereed". They all mean essentially the same thing and refer to the editorial and publication process in which scholars in the same field review the research and findings before the article is published, checking for validity, originality, and quality.
| Scholarly / Peer-Reviewed | Popular/Not Scholarly | |
| Author | Expert | Journalist / Professional Writer |
| Review | Reviewed by an editorial board or other experts ("peers") | Reviewed by an editor |
| Audience / Language |
Scholars and students / Academic Technical language |
General public Easy to understand |
| Content |
Original Research |
News and practical information Uses a variety of sources for background |
| Sources | Always cited | Sometimes cited |
| Examples |
Peer-reviewed articles Academic encyclopedias |
Magazine articles |
Examples of scholarly articles:
To make sure we are all on the same page, let's put our knowledge to the test.
Skim the following resources available through the links keeping in mind the characteristics we have discussed in class. Ask yourself:
What type of information is this? (news, magazine, website, journal article etc.) Where was it published?
Was it written by an "expert"?
What types of information does this source refer to?
Vote whether you think this source is Scholarly or Not Scholarly.
[Caption: First panel is Canadian treasure Drake, wearing an orange puffy coat, rejecting sources that do not cite scholarship or credible information for this assignment. The second panel is Canadian treasure Drake welcoming scholarly sources for this assignment, particularly peer-reviewed articles and books.]
But seriously...
Your scholarly sources will likely be one of the following:
Remember:
Use your critical evaluation skills to determine whether your other sources are good enough to use in this assignment! Look for references to data, evidence and links to reliable sources. Make sure that the source you use comes from a reliable source.
Figure 2. Copely, R. Huge stand in the market with a large selection of fruits [Photograph]. Pixy.org. https://pixy.org/143529/
Questions to consider
Tip: Think about your topic in terms of a simple sentence (as you typed it out on the sign up sheet) and then highlight key terms.
Example Problem: Do female faculty get paid less than male faculty in Canadian universities?
|
Broad Topic |
Synonyms (terms you could use with OR) |
Additional Terms (terms you could use with AND) |
Narrowed Down Topic |
|
Men get paid more than women Salaries in post-secondary Do female professors get paid less than male professors? |
"pay equity" OR "pay equality" "equal pay" "unequal pay" "gender parity" professor OR faculty "pay gap" OR "wage gap" OR "salary gap" salary OR pay OR compensation university OR "post-secondary" OR "higher education OR college women OR female OR gender
|
"gender roles" sexism "pay grid" "maternity leave" Canada racism promotion OR tenure transparency "sunshine lists" aboriginal OR Indigenous BIPOC OR "visible minority" "gender discrimination" "gender bias" tenure promotion
|
"pay gap" AND faculty AND ( universities OR "post-secondary" AND Canada "higher education" AND salary AND "gender discrimination" AND Canada racism AND (salary OR pay OR compensation ) AND Canad* AND universities AND professors |
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 - "pay equity"
Use AND to combine search terms - gender AND faculty AND "pay equity"
Use OR to connect two or more similar terms - ("pay equity" OR "equal pay")
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.
Take the APA Referencing Tutorial on D2L!
This self-paced 90-minute tutorial covers the same content as our live workshop—why citation is important along with the basics of in-text citations and reference entries in APA Style. Students who complete the tutorial will gain access to a form they can fill out and submit as proof of completion.
Access the tutorial on D2L: Using Google Chrome as your web browser, log in to D2L (learn.mru.ca) with your @mtroyal.ca account. Click the “Discover” tab, then type “APA” in the search bar. Click on the “APA Referencing Tutorial” link and then the “Enroll in Course” button. If you have any questions about the tutorial, contact sls@mtroyal.ca.
This work (Question Mark Symbol Icon Character, by Peggy_Marco), identified by Pixabay, is free of known copyright restrictions.
Image Credit: First Draft News “Understanding Information Disorder,” https://web.archive.org/web/20241009174006/https://firstdraftnews.org/long-form-article/understanding-information-disorder/
Crying Girl and Puppy After Hurricane Helene (October 2024)
