Finding Scholarly Voices: Researching Small Things Like These
The Plan:
- Review what we know about information format and genre
- Demonstrate how to use Library Search and Google Scholar
- Building a Search Strategy - using keywords to find sources
- Fill out your Annotated Bibliography Template
By the end of the session, you will be able to:
- Define the characteristics of scholarly vs. popular sources
- Build a search strategy using keywords and synonyms
- Locate a scholarly (peer-reviewed) source that connects to one of the 3 prompts for your assignment
- Know where to find citation guides and help
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
- You are able to synthesize a variety of information and integrate it into your own work
- You are able to investigate the dialogue that has occurred related to an area of interest and engage in that conversation through your academic writing
- Using good, credible reliable sources will elevate the accuracy and authority of your own work
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).
- Information creations are valued differently depending on the context and purpose for which they are created
- Audience matters. Certain things are created for certain purposes and it doesn't really make one format of information better than another. It is up to us to discern what information process best fits our information need.
- In your own creation process, understand that your choices in what type of information you use, impacts the purpose for which the information product you create will be used and the message it conveys.
Source: Project Cora - https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/information-spectrum
Take 3-5 minutes and sort these sources into the column that you think they would best fit (academic/scholarly or non-academic). (You must be logged into an MRU/Google Account to move the stickies)
A scholarly publication contains articles written by experts in a particular field. The primary audience of these articles is other experts. ... Many of these publications are also referred to as "peer-reviewed", 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.
| 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 Scholarly books Literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis Thesis and dissertations |
Magazine articles |
- What are the author’s credentials? Is it written by an expert?
- Published in a journal (is there a DOI?) If you are not sure if it is a journal article enter the title of the publication into Ulrichs Web
- Academic language
- Includes reference list
- Length
- A "Received" and "Accepted" date
- Is it an actual article? Sometimes other types of content are included in scholarly publications, such as editorials/opinion pieces and book reviews. Make sure you are looking at an article.
Examples:
Searching for Scholarship/Academic Sources
Using the Library
There are a few ways to use the library.
- Use the library search box/Library Search - allows you to search the entire collection.
- Search in interdisciplinary databases - I have them listed under the articles tab on the GNED guide. You will be searching a smaller collection of sources.
- Search in discipline-specific journals - This type of search will yield fewer results. It helps to know the publication title to use this feature effectively, but you can also type in a broader topic, as long as that word is contained within the title of the journal Eg: forensic
Search Smarter!
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!)
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Use quotation marks to keep phrases together - "Black Lives Matter"
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Use AND to combine search terms - "police violence" AND protester
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Use OR to connect two or more similar terms - BLM OR "Black Lives Matter"
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Use wild cards to substitute a letter or suffix with a symbol - demonstr*
Things to remember when using Library Search:
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Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.
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Use the pin icon to save books and articles.
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Use the filters on the right. You will use Availability, Resource Type, and Date filters most often.
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Some items won't be available. You can request unavailable items using interlibrary loan.
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When viewing an item record, scroll down to the Get It or Full Text section to get the item.
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 the 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
Figure 1. Copely, R. Huge stand in the market with a large selection of fruits [Photograph]. Pixy.org. https://pixy.org/143529/
What words would you use to describe this image?
Let's start working on the annotated bibliography. If you haven't already, choose a theme. Apply some of the strategies and keywords that I have come up with, and come up with your own too (build a glossary if necessary). You will probably read a few before you find something that you want to use (or not!)
What keywords worked for you?
What search terms did you come up with yourself?
- Cite Sources: Learn the correct way to cite sources by using these guides, tutorials, and videos.
- Referencing Webinars: APA & MLA. Referencing Webinars are 75 minutes long. Registration is required.
- Online Appointments: Personalized online 30-minute appointments with a Learning Strategist
Take an MLA or APA Referencing Tutorial on D2L!
These self-paced 90-minute tutorials covers the same content as live workshops—why citation is important along with the basics of in-text citations and reference entries. 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” or "MLA" in the search bar. Click on the “APA Referencing Tutorial” or "MLA Referencing Tutorial" link and then the “Enroll in Course” button. If you have any questions about the tutorial, contact sls@mtroyal.ca.
