Speaker 1: Academic Research Understanding Scholarly Sources of Information Academic material is often divided into primary and secondary sources of information. Primary sources are as close to the original as possible. What is considered primary will change with perspective, subject matter, and how far in the past an event occurred. Primary sources are sometimes multimedia, such as photographs, original audio recordings, and archaeological artifacts, in addition to things like personal writings, source materials, and experimental data. This might include a report made by the CDC, the diary of Anne Frank, or a photograph of Syrian protesters. Secondary sources are information about something, rather than something that's a part of it. Secondary sources restate, analyze, interpret, or contextualize primary sources. In contrast to our primary source examples, secondary materials could include a news article distilling the findings of that CDC report, a biography of Anne Frank, or an encyclopedia entry on the Syrian Civil War. For another example, think about your favorite band or musician. Primary sources would include music recordings, original drafts of songs or autobiographical materials, audio or transcription of an interview, and other unmediated sources. Secondary material would be things like a biography, a review of an album or other magazine article, or some kind of documentary. In the academic world, experimental data or original research reports, archival materials, and literary works are common primary sources, whereas journal articles, examining or analyzing them, would be considered secondary. In literature, for example, all journal articles are considered secondary, since the primary sources would be the novels, plays, and poems themselves. In the sciences, however, there are many journal articles that would be considered primary sources if they report on experimental research. The other important distinction in academic research is between scholarly and popular periodicals. These are pretty easy to tell apart when looking at the physical publications, but it's important to be able to tell them apart in databases, where you probably won't be able to see the cover to clue you in. Anything published on a periodic basis, whether weekly, monthly, or otherwise, is referred to as a periodical, to distinguish them from books. Scholarly publications, also referred to as academic or peer-reviewed, are generally written by professors and scholars to be read by other people in academia. They also undergo a peer-review process, where other experts check for accuracy before publication. These articles will be lengthy, with formal divisions and technical language that can be tricky to understand. They will also have many references listed in a bibliography at the end, since scholarly work incorporates and builds on existing research. Scholarly periodicals are also distinguished by their lack of advertising. In fact, charts and graphs are probably the closest thing you'll find to any type of illustration in scholarly journals. Popular periodicals are more commonly known as magazines or newspapers. These are written by journalists who are trained in writing, rather than the particular subject he or she may be writing about. These articles are read by the general public, and don't undergo any type of review beyond the general editorial process. They are shorter in length, more accessible, and often include photos or pictures. They seldom include references, and are often flanked with abundant advertising. Both types of sources have important applications, but for serious academic research, scholarly materials are far more appropriate. There are several defining characteristics of academic articles. Academic articles will generally have very specific titles that are narrow in scope. The authors and their credentials will be prominently included, as well as their contact information. Look for the journal name or publishing body, and the volume and issue information in the header or the footer. Academic articles will begin with an abstract, use formal language, and have a lengthy references section. Speaking of references, if you find a really great article, you will often be able to find other helpful articles in its bibliography. To find the text of an article that you only have a citation for, the quick search on the library homepage is a good starting point. This searches across all of the Torah holdings, including the context of the catalog and databases. Search for the title of the article, adding in other information as necessary. If we do not have the article in our holdings, you can submit an interlibrary loan request. When researchers perform an experiment or a study, they write up their findings in a predictable, formalized way. Knowing this format can make reading these articles and finding the exact information you need easier. The following sections will typically be used to structure the paper. It will begin with an abstract or summary of the article and their findings. Next will be a literature review, sometimes labeled introduction or background, which gives the context and current state of research in this area for the experiment. The results section will show what they found, possibly including data tables, diagrams, charts, etc. Last will be a conclusion discussing what their findings mean, what improvements are possible, or suggestions for further research, and then their references. Rather than reading academic articles from start to finish, it can be helpful to take a strategic approach. Reading the abstract and conclusion will generally give you a good idea of the author's main points and conclusions and reveal if the article will be helpful in your research. If so, then go back over the body of the article. Be sure to read enough not to take statements out of context, but feel free to focus on the most relevant portions. To get the most out of reading, ask yourself, What is the author saying or arguing? What biases or assumptions can I discern? Are there issues being minimized or ignored? How does the evidence hold up? What counter-evidence should be considered? And how do this author's beliefs compare with other materials I've been reading? Taking notes can help you to remember what you read and be a resource when writing your paper. Jot down main ideas, evidence, and arguments, as well as analysis of the article. Note exactly what source you're taking notes from, as well as any information you'll need for your bibliography entry. And be sure to mark page numbers in the margins for your in-text citations and clearly indicate any direct quotes. Separate summary of the source from your own thoughts and observations so you'll know what you need to cite. And remember, to find additional resources on these or any other topics related to research and library use, don't forget to visit the Student Services page on the library website.