Finding Scholarly Sources at
The University of Michigan
WHAT ARE
SCHOLARLY
SOURCES?
WHY ARE THEY
IMPORTANT?
HOW DO YOU
FIND AND
ACCESS THEM?
Ashley’s Assignment
Ashley, a first year student in
LSA, has an Assignment Due in
two weeks.
She has to write a 5-7 page
paper on violence in video
games and how it affects
children. She needs to use at
least 3 scholarly sources in her
paper.
Photo credit: masonsom, flickr
Ashley’s First Question: What are Scholarly Sources?
A scholarly article or book is generally based on
original research or experimentation. It is written
by a researcher or expert in the field who is often
affiliated with a college or university.
Source: Adapted from: library.queensu.ca/webisi/survivalguide/glossary.html
So Ashley Needs to Decide: Is it Scholarly or Popular?
Journal-Scholarly
Magazine-Popular
Content
Detailed report of original research or experiment.
Secondary report or discussion may
include personal narrative, opinion,
anecdotes.
Author
Author's credentials are given, usually a scholar
with subject expertise.
Author may or may not be named;
often a professional writer; may or
may not have subject expertise.
Audience
Scholars, researchers, students.
General public; the interested nonspecialist.
Language
Specialized terminology or jargon of the field;
requires prior knowledge.
Vocabulary in general usage;
understandable to most readers.
References/Biblio
graphy
Required. All quotes and facts can be verified.
Rare. Scanty, if any, information
about sources.
Examples
Developmental Psychology, Journal of Abnormal
Psychology. Almost anything with Journal in the
title. Usually come with memberships in scholarly
societies and are only available in libraries.
Psychology Today, Discover, news
magazines. Almost anything available
in a store.
Why Is It Important To Use Scholarly Sources For A
College Research Paper?
Building
Blocks of
Knowledge
Creating a
Path to
Discovery
New
Knowledge
is Created
Scholarship
builds on previous
ideas and
discoveries.
Researchers
credit those
ideas and
discoveries
through
citations
(references).
Students write
papers and cite
researchers, and
become the next
generation of
researchers.
for example, medical care keeps
getting better because of
research!
you’ll need to credit those
researchers ideas in your own
paper!
.
And, of course, it’s important to
use scholarly sources because your
instructor told you to!
Where Can Ashley Find Scholarly Articles?
Can She Find Articles
Through Google?
Although Google is a great resource to find
general information, scholarly articles are
often only available by subscription, and not
freely available.
Can She Find Articles At
The Library?
The library purchases access to scholarly
journals, and access to those articles are
through databases.
How Would Ashley Find Articles on Violence in Video Games
and How it Affects Children?
Use Databases, Not Mirlyn
Although Mirlyn is great for
finding books, it does not have
journal articles on specific topics.
The library does have access to
hundreds of databases for article
searching.
How Does Ashley Choose a Database? There are So Many!
Decide Which Database to Use
Confused? There are so
many databases to
choose from!
Use the browse feature
on the library website.
Choose the subject that
most closely matches
your topic, and then
narrow your selection.
How Will Ashley Pick the Best Database for Her Topic?
Search For Articles!
Choose a database from
the list. Try some
searches on your topic.
We recommend trying a
couple of different
databases. They will all
have different results.
Good Luck!
 Finding
scholarly articles
can be
confusing.
 If you have
questions, ask a
librarian!
http://www.lib.umich.edu/ask-librarian