ENGL 105, Academic Writing (Ron Sweeney)

Information comes in many packages such as:

These information sources may have different presentations, different audiences, biases, and purposes. Part of being a researcher, is determining what type of information you need/want to use. 

You are likely familiar with many of these resources, so we will focus on academic sources that you may not have encountered before.

Not all journals are created equal, and not all will be appropriate for every research need. These are the most common types of journals you are likely to encounter in your research, presented in order from most to least academic or scholarly:

• Scholarly Journals: reports of original research, theoretical, experimental or applied; many are refereed/peer-reviewed
• Trade/Professional Journals: current trends, news & events in a particular field; some are peer-reviewed
• Journals of Commentary or Opinion: commentary on political & social issues; often source of specific political viewpoint, e.g., conservative, liberal, or specific interest group
• Newspapers: current information, news stories; local & regional focus
• Popular Magazines: current events & news; primary source for popular culture

Not all journals are created equal, and not all will be appropriate for every research need. Here are some characteristics of scholarly journals:

• the authors are researchers or scholars - articles will typically include the author's institutional affiliation;
• the articles reflect an-depth analysis of topics or report original research (theoretical, experimental or applied);
• articles are often lengthy, and book reviews, if included, are substantial;
• the language used reflects the technical vocabulary of the discipline (i.e., jargon); and
• many are refereed or peer-reviewed.

For more information and additional characteristics, see Types of Periodicals.

Books are rarely peer-reviewed, which can make it more challenging to determine scholarly status. However, the following are common characteristics of scholarly books:

• the authors or editors are researchers or scholars (you might need to look inside the book for information about the author, or you can try a Google search);
• the publisher is often a university press (e.g., Oxford University Press, University of California Press) or an academic society (e.g., American Anthropological Association); and/or
• the language used reflects the technical vocabulary of the discipline (i.e., jargon).