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Santa Clara UniversityUniversity Library

ETHN 185/POLI 195DW: Seminar on U.S. Racial and Ethnic Politics (Lai)

Course guide for Winter Qtr 2024

Types of Articles

If you need... Try using...
Expert evidence Scholarly articles, books, and statistical data
Public or individual opinion on an issue Newspapers, magazines, and websites
Basic facts about an event Newspapers, books, encyclopedia (for older and well-known events)
Eye-witness accounts Newspapers, primary source books, social media (for current events)
A general overview of a topic Books or encyclopedias
Information about a very recent topic Websites, newspapers, magazines, and social media
Local information Newspapers, websites, and books
Information from professionals working in the field             Trade or professional publications

Scholarly Sources

Scholarly Sources can refer to peer-reviewed journal articles or academic books.

Covers very specific topics or narrow fields of research. 

The content is written by experts in a particular field of study -

Purpose: Sharing original research or analyzing others' findings.

Cites all source materials used and is usually subject to "peer review" prior to publication. 

Primary audience: Fellow experts and students studying the field.

Content: Sophisticated and advanced compared to articles found in general magazines, or professional/trade journals.

Remember! Scholarly work is: 

  • Written by experts for experts
  • Based on original research or intellectual inquiry
  • Provides citations for all sources used
  • Is usually peer-reviewed prior to publication

Here is an interactive resource from North Carolina State University Libraries 

Click the link to view aspects of a scholarly articles Anatomy of a Scholarly Article . 

Source: libncsu. (2014, May 1). Peer review in 3 minutes. YouTube. Retrieved January 8, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOCQZ7QnoN0&t=1s

 

Popular Sources

Covers a wide range of sources, including newspapers and magazines.

Purpose: to inform a wide array of readers about issues of interest and are much more informal in tone and scope.

Examples: General news, business and entertainment publications such as Time Magazine, Business Weekly, Vanity Fair.

 

National Geographic, Scientific American, Psychology Today are types of special interest publications that are considered popular not specifically written for academic audience. 

 

Popular sources

  • Written by journalists or professional writers for a general audience.
  • Written in a language that is easy to understand by the general public.
  • Rarely have a bibliography - rather, they are fact-checked through the editorial process of the publication they appear in.
  • Don't assume prior knowledge of a subject area - very helpful to read if you don't know a lot about your topic. 
  • Source could include: argument, opinion, or analysis of an issue. 

Primary sources are first-hand evidence related to the time or event you are researching. This includes accounts by participants or observers and a wide range of written, physical, audio or visual materials created at the time or later by someone with direct experience.

In the sciences and social sciences, primary sources or 'primary research' are original research experiments, studies, or observations written about by the researchers themselves.

Source: YouTube. (2017, October 17). Primary and secondary sources. YouTube. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzlONZDM1Pg

Secondary Sources 

  • describe or analyze primary sources.
  • Include reviews, and books, and articles that interpret, review, or synthesize original research.

 

 

Source: OUlearn. (2016, December 19). What is a secondary source? (3/3). YouTube. Retrieved January 8, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B24sAvAzLg