COM 495e: Networked People in a Networked World - Fall 2014 by Jessica Albano: Types of Sources (scholarly, popular, trade)

Scholarly v Popular Sources

	Scholarly Resources	Popular Resources
Audience	Scholars and researcher within a specific field or discipline (eg. Evolutionary Psychology, or 18th Century European Politics).	The general public, or readers interested in a general subject (eg. readers of Psychology Today, or Wired). Non-experts.
Purpose	Report on the results of new research. Discuss the results of ongoing research.	Report on current events. Summarize research that may interest the general public or general readers. Entertain.
Authors	Scholars and researchers. Readers of scholarly materials are more of an expert in the subject than an average reader. The author and their institution are always identified.	Journalists or non-experts. It is not uncommon for the author to be unnamed.
Language	Highly specialized and/or technical. Includes vocabulary and jargon that is readily understood by researchers in the field, but not an average reader.	General, average language is used. Item may be read and understood by just about anyone.
Sources	Footnotes and/or an extensive bibliography are always included. Sources are cited in text and listed in footnotes and/or at the end of the work.	Do not usually contain citations, footnotes, or a list of sources consulted.

Information (Publication) Cycle

When an idea, technology, or event enters the public consciousness, it is first reported through social media, news, and magazines.

It can take a year or more for it to appear in scholarly journals, books, and reference sources.

Depending on the newness of your topic, you may not find scholarly sources on your exact topic.

Research topic example: Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear threat

Watch the Information Cycle: Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear threat video

This natural disaster occurred on March 11, 2011which is relatively recent in the information and publication world. It has been covered in newspapers, magazines, and government documents, but fewer scholarly articles and books are available.

To find additional scholarly information, broaden your search for scholarly articles and books to cover the lasting impact of other tsunamis and nuclear problems that have occurred.

japan AND tsunami AND nuclear
japan AND tsunami AND "Fukushima nuclear reactor"
tsunami AND (aftermath OR impact)
"nuclear reactor" AND meltdown
nuclear AND japan AND (reactor OR power)

Peer-reviewed (Refereed) Journals

The goal of the peer review (sometimes called referee) process is to assess the quality of articles submitted for publication in a scholarly journal. Before an article is published in a peer reviewed journal, it must go through this process:

The author of the article submits it to the journal editor. The editor asks experts (reviewers) in the field (scholars who specialize in the same scholarly area as the content of the article) to review it. The editor often removes the author's name from the article so that the reviewers judge the content of the article without reference to who wrote it.
The reviewers carefully evaluate the quality of the article. They check it for accuracy and assess the validity of the research methodology and process.
If needed, they suggest revisions. If they find the article lacking in scholarly validity, they reject it.
The editor follows the recommendation of the reviewers, accepting the article for publication or rejecting it.

A peer reviewed journal does not publish articles that fail to meet the standards established for a discipline. For this reason, peer reviewed articles accepted for publication exemplify the best research practices in a field.

Need to verify that a journal is peer reviewed (refereed)? Search the Ulrichsweb periodicals directory for the title of the publication in which the article was published to see the journal is refereed.