Popular versus scholarly sources

Quite often you will be expected to use "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed" sources. How can you tell whether a source is scholarly? Look for these indicators.

• The author is a scientist or scholar, not a journalist. Usually you can find some note about where the author works, and more often than not it's at a college or university.
• The audience is other researchers, scientists, or scholars, so the language is fairly complex and assumes a level of sophistication.
• If an article, it is fairly long. It's rare for a scholarly article to be one or two pages.
• It includes references and/or a bibliography.

When in doubt, check with your professor.

Primary versus secondary sources

The term "primary source" is defined differently by different disciplines. In the humanities, a primary source is a historical document, such as a diary, memoir, a work of art, a news account published when an event was fresh - something from the historical period under examination, unfiltered by anyone else. In the sciences, a primary source is a scientist's write-up of their research that includes their methods and results, as opposed to science journalism or a summary of research that has been conducted to provide an overview of a given topic (usually called a "review article").

A secondary source is one that has already been analyzed by someone else.Moving even further from the unfiltered event is a teriary source such as a textbook, that covers a topic in very general terms.

Using primary sources, whether in science or the humanities, helps a researcher get as close as possible to the subject under examination. Using primary sources can be a good way to point your reader to the raw materials of your ideas and provide an opportunity for you to do your own, original analysis.

To find historical primary sources, check out the ideas in our guide to history resources.

One of the most powerful ways to find valuable sources is to follow the breadcrumb trail left by scholars in their published work. When researchers cite sources, they are bolstering their argument by providing evidence, but also pointing readers to places they can go for more information. Take them up on it!

In addition to references in books and articles, the bibliographies found in specialized reference works such as the New Grove Dictionary of Music or the Encyclopedia of Psychology will point you to the most significant research on a topic, an efficient shortcut to the best stuff.

Once you see a reference that looks good, how do you get your hands on it? Here's a quick checklist.

• Is the reference to a book? Check the title in MnPALS.
• Is the reference to a chapter or essay in a book? Check the book title in MnPALS.
• Is the reference to a journal article? Check the Journal Locator by title of the journal.
• Did you strike out? Request it through Interlibrary Loan.
• Not sure what it is? Ask at the reference desk.