Deciding whether to use a popular or scholarly source or an article or a book will depend on a variety of things. What are the requirements for the assignment? What kind of research are you doing? Are you looking for basic information or in-depth analysis on your topic?
Keep these things in mind as you choose the best resource for your assignments.
In general, use books written for an academic or scholarly audience instead of those written for a popular audience.
Remember: you may only need to read one chapter of a scholarly book!
InfoHawk+ is the tool for finding physical and electronic resources at our library, including books, e-books, and more. It searches Iowa Research Online, major databases, and unique UI Libraries collections like Iowa Digital Collections.
InfoHawk+ Tutorials
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Journal articles, also known as scholarly articles, academic articles, or peer-reviewed articles, are written by scholars or professionals who are experts in their fields.
They are an excellent source for:
Searching in a database is different from searching the web. Use these tips to start your search:
Also Known As...
Within this guide, "scholarly sources" refer to articles in peer-reviewed, academic journals. The terms scholarly journal, academic journal, and peer-reviewed journal are often used interchangeably. Scholarly sources can also include books written by scholars and researchers.
Additionally, "popular sources" refers mostly to articles found in magazines, newspapers, and general online information.
Primary and secondary sources vary across different disciplines. In general, a primary sources either provide a first hand account of a research topic (Humanities) or contain original research (Sciences). In the social sciences, these definitions vary by method or theoretical approach and either definition might apply.
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