Black Women's Studies

 Source: http://www.affiliateblogonline.com

Before you begin your research, learn about clues to look for when identifying scholarly articles.

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SCHOLARLY literature:

• contains the study methods and results of research performed by the author(s) of the article
• is written by/for those with some knowledge in a particular field of study - a certain level of familiarity with the subject is assumed
• gives the professional affiliation of the researcher in order to establish his/her credentials in their field
• is extensively referenced - authors must cite the work of others as it pertains to their own work
• is reviewed by peers who work in the same field (i.e. "peer-reviewed")

POPULAR literature:

• may be written by experts in a given field or by professional writers
• is written for a lay audience
• does not usually contain references

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Additionally, it is important to understand the difference between PRIMARY and SECONDARY sources.

PRIMARY literature:

• contains an "experimental methods" section
• recounts experiments that have been been performed by the authors of the articles themselves
• contains "raw data" compiled by the authors which will usually be presented in tables or charts
• attempts to address a specific hypothesis
• has references which give pertinent background information for the hypothesis being addressed in the paper

SECONDARY literature:

• often takes the form of a review article
• contains a summary of experiments performed by the author as well as other researchers
• may contain tables and figures, but usually not as many as a primary source
• is a good place to go to learn about a field of study with which one is unfamiliar
• has references which give a history of the research that has been done in a specific area of study

TERTIARY literature:

• is often comprised of compilations of primary and secondary literature
• is a good place to go to learn basic principles and facts about a particular field of study
• can become outdated as information usually takes a while to find it's way from a primary source to a tertiary source
• includes: almanacs, encyclopedias, text books, manuals, dictionaries, etc.

How to Identify Primary Sources

There are two main types of sources that scholars use to conduct research, primary and secondary. The University of New South Wales at Sydney gives these helpful definitions:

Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be authoritative. They represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or events, or they can share new information. Often these sources are created at the time the events occurred but they can also include sources that are created later. They are usually the first formal appearance of original research.

Secondary sources involve analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.

Scholarly journals, although generally considered to be secondary sources, often contain articles on very specific subjects and may be the primary source of information on new developments.

Primary and secondary categories are often not fixed and depend on the study or research you are undertaking. For example, newspaper editorial/opinion pieces can be both primary and secondary. If exploring how an event affected people at a certain time, this type of source would be considered a primary source. If exploring the event, then the opinion piece would be responding to the event and therefore is considered to be a secondary source.

There's more information and examples of the different types of sources on the UNSW library site. To learn more, we encourage you to check out these other online resources:

• Primary vs. Secondary Sources from the American University library site
• Conducting Primary Research from Purdue OWL