Research Guides: FYS Autobiography in the Age of the Selfie: Start Here

Where to Find Scholarly Sources

The databases featured in this box are particularly useful for this class. Peer Reviewed articles, among other things, are found in these databases.

You can learn more about databases on the Research Hub.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Communication Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new window
JSTOR: Journals, primary sources, and books This link opens in a new window
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window

Citing your work

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Your LIbrarian

Katherine Hooker

Email Me

Contact:

SLC 103B

(512) 863-1024

Subjects: Accounting, Advanced Entry Seminar, Art & Art History, Business, First Year Seminar, French Language & Literature, German Language & Literature, Health Studies, Images and Videos, Primary Sources, Spanish Language & Literature, Theatre and Dance

Recommended Internet Resources

New York Times Online This link opens in a new window
Use this link if you have already set up or renewed your Southwestern account/pass with NYT.
New York Times Registration--YOU MUST BE ON CAMPUS TO DO THIS. This link opens in a new window
Use this link to set up your SU account/pass with the New York Times. YOU MUST RENEW YOUR ACCOUNT AT THIS LINK ONCE EACH YEAR.
For more information, see the libguide at https://infoguides.southwestern.edu/NYTimes

This Day in Music
What happened in music on any date entered.
Wikipedia: 2006
Wikipedia:2005
Wikipedia: 2000s Portal
This Day in History
From the History Channel, popular culture historical events.

Evaluating Sources for Credibility

When you encounter any kind of source, consider:

Authority - Who is the author? What is their point of view?
Purpose - Why was the source created? Who is the intended audience?
Publication & format - Where was it published? In what medium?
Relevance - How is it relevant to your research? What is its scope?
Date of publication - When was it written? Has it been updated?
Documentation - Did they cite their sources? Who did they cite?

Scholarly vs Popular: The table below shows which characteristics are more commonly associated with scholarly or popular sources. Both scholarly and popular sources can be appropriate for your research purposes, depending on your research question, but research assignments will often require you to use scholarly materials.

	Scholarly	Popular
Author	Experts such as scientist, professors, and historians	Generalists, including bloggers, staff writers, and journalists; not always attributed
Examples	Journal of Asian History, New England Journal of Medicine, Chemical Reviews, Educational Psychologist; books from University presses such as Oxford University Press	Wikipedia, CNN.com, About.com; People Magazine, USA Today; bestselling books; books from popular publishers like Penguin and Random House
Format	Almost always include: abstracts, literature reviews, methodologies, results, and conclusions	Varies
Citations	Include bibliographies, citations, and footnotes that follow a particular academic style guide	No formal citations included; may or may not informally attribute sources in text
Purpose	Communicating research findings and education	Entertainment and news