TYPES OF SOURCES
WHAT ARE SCHOLARLY SOURCES?
http://vimeo.com/27119325
SCHOLARLY SOURCES
Sources written by experts in
a field

Can be a book or an article
PEER-REVIEWED SOURCE

An article that has been reviewed by several
experts in the field who all agree that the
information is valid and legitimate.
SUBSTANTIVE SOURCES

Written for an educated, but not necessarily expert,
audience. They seldom claim to present new knowledge;
instead, they make knowledge available to non-experts.

They often cite scholarly sources, but generally do not
include a bibliography. Authors need not be scholars in
the field; however, they engage in significant research and
support their claims with reasons/subclaims and evidence
Examples:
Time Magazine, Harpers, The Atlantic, Psychology Today,
Scientific America, a U.S. Government Report and many,
many more!
SUBSTANTIVE SOURCES
Not every article in these magazines is substantive.
Usually just the feature/cover article.
For a list of substantive sources, click the link &
scroll down to magazines
http://www.aldaily.com/
WHAT ARE PRIMARY SOURCES?
Primary Source
Document or physical object which was written or created
during the time under study.
 These sources were present during an experience or time
period and offer an inside view of a particular event

The term “Primary Source” means different things
in different disciplines.
In English or Art or History:

Diaries, speeches, novels, poems, manuscripts,
letters, interviews, news film footage,
autobiographies, official records, a piece of art, a
song, map, speech, etc.
In Social and Hard Sciences:

Published study that records the results of an
experiment
WHAT ARE SECONDARY SOURCES?
Secondary Sources define and analyze primary
sources.
In English or Art or History:
 A peer-reviewed article, analysis of a short story,
review of a movie, interpretative article about a
piece of art
In Social Sciences and Hard Sciences:
 A magazine article about cancer, a psychology
textbook, a book for kids about tribes in Africa.
WHAT ARE TERTIARY SOURCES?
!!! You can NOT use any tertiary sources in unit 2 !!!
Tertiary sources
 A source that collects and distills information from
primary and secondary sources
Often present a summary of information
 Often condense info from primary & secondary sources

Examples:

Newspapers

Encyclopedias

Most Open (Free) Websites: like a business’s website or info from the website for
a non-profit organization, personal websites, blogs, etc.
EXCEPTIONS REGARDING WEBSITES
The term “website” is highly problematic!
There are a few types of “websites” that are
credible and house scholarly work that you CAN
use in unit 2.

Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journals: Journals that
provide free access to ALL users via the internet


Journal of Art Historiography
VCU Library Databases
(library databases are NOT free and open)
POP QUIZ!
1.
You are writing a report about
the Holocaust and you are
looking at letters written by a
women while in a
concentration camp. What kind
of source is this?
Primary, Secondary, Scholarly, Substantive,
Peer-Reviewed, Tertiary
POP QUIZ!
2. You are writing a paper about depictions of
women in Disney Movies. You watch Snow
White and the Seven Dwarves. What kind of
source is the movie?
Primary, Secondary, Scholarly, Substantive,
Peer-Reviewed, Tertiary
POP QUIZ!
3.
You are studying the way that Fox
News discusses the death penalty.
You watch Fox News reports on
TV to see for yourself. What kind
of source is this?
Primary, Secondary, Scholarly, Substantive,
Peer-Reviewed, Tertiary
4. You are writing a paper about
crime in Richmond, VA. You see a
show on CNN discussing this exact
topic, and there are some great
statistics you want to cite. What
kind of source is this?
Primary, Secondary, Scholarly, Substantive,
Peer-Reviewed, Tertiary
POP QUIZ!
5.
You are studying the way
police are depicted in Law
and Order. You find a great
article about this exact topic
in The New York Times.
What kind of source is this?
Primary, Scholarly, Substantive, Peer Reviewed,
Tertiary
POP QUIZ!
6. You are studying the way police
are depicted in Law and Order.
You find a great article written
by an expert about this exact
topic in The Journal of Crime
Television. What kind of source is
this?
Primary, Scholarly, Substantive, Peer Reviewed,
7. You are studying the way police
are depicted in Law and Order. You
find an 8-page feature article
written by a professional, wellknown journalist about this exact
topic in Time Magazine. What kind
of source is this?
Primary, Scholarly, Substantive, Peer Reviewed,
Tertiary
LAST QUESTION!
8. You are studying the way police are
depicted in Law and Order. You find
a great 8-page feature article written
by a professional, well-known
journalist about this exact topic in the
online version of Time Magazine.
Primary, Scholarly, Substantive, Peer Reviewed, Tertiary
THINKING ABOUT SUMMARY IN YOUR SAS
http://vimeo.com/27119582
MOST COMMON MISTAKES IN SAS
Citations—
 indent all lines AFTER first
 In-text citations for the quote section
 Placement of period

APA
“for the rest of her life” (Smith, 2009, p. 19).
 Smith (2009) said, “…for the rest of her life” (p. 19).


MLA
“for the rest of her life” (Smith 19).
 Smith said, “…for the rest of her life” (19).
