Demystifying Scholarly Journals: Unit 1
Navigation links: ETAP 623 Fall 2021 (Zhang) | Demystifying Scholarly Journals
Introduction
Each of us publishes content each day. Whether a tweet, review, or a comment on someone else’s thread, all of us publish content that is readily accessible for others to view. But what does this mean regarding the information that is shared? Should all information be treated the same? How do we discern what is viable information versus what is opinionated? When someone asks you to list your sources what does that mean? This short course is designed to introduce learners to scholarly journal articles and their importance to research, their formatting, and how to find information that has been cited. Throughout the units you will be asked to participate in groups to build upon your findings and take consideration of others’ ideas.
Activity
Think about how often you interact with content online each day. How long do you think it takes to publish the various content listed? Please download following document below and discuss how often you publish content and list how long you think it takes to publish information in the column next to the listings:
Next, think about the information being shared. While information is shared, it’s not always researched. Categorize the content listed above to reflect how much research your group thinks is needed to publish the above. You can simply state no research needed, little research, or heavy research, or you like you can give a time estimate!
Follow up
Thinking about the previous exercises one can derive that while information can be readily shared, it is not always thoroughly researched. Think of the childhood game of telephone. A person whispers a secret phrase to someone who then must share that exact phrase whispering it to the next person until the last person it was shared with has to announce the phrase. Almost 100% of the time the phrase that individuals end up with is vastly different from the original phrase whispered to the first person. Information, especially through social media, acts in a similar way. Things are often taken out of context to argue specific points or are skewed to support a specific argument. This makes it difficult to determine the origin of the statement along with its specific informative intent.
Information and learning are at our fingertips! How to sites and video links are a great way to share procedural knowledge for specific tasks like how to replace an electrical outlet, but would you trust your cousin’s friend’s mother on Facebook when it comes to learning about medication side effects? Of course not. Firsthand knowledge of this could be gained by speaking to your primary physician, but where do they get their information from? You guessed it. Scholarly journal research.
Scholarly journal articles (or sometimes called peer-reviewed or academic journals) are written by subject experts with systems in place to ensure the quality and accuracy of information (California State University, 2021). Scholarly journal articles are written by professionals for the intent of expanding research and communicating findings. Many scholarly journal articles are written by college and university faculty members as a partial requirement for tenure. These are individuals who are relentlessly dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and dissemination of information. They are people who have spent most of their adult lives directly dedicated to a specific area of study. As such they have come to rely on specificities when sharing information. Scholarly journals serve to organize that information for an academic audience and are considered one of the most reliable forms of information distribution. Scholarly research is designed to remove implicit bias, reflect real, reproducible findings, and in some cases, are subject to adherence of protocols set forth by Institutional Review Boards. Additionally, scholarly journal articles are often peer-reviewed. Peer-reviewed means that the article has been subjected to thorough review by the author’s academic peers in their respective educational field (Wofford College, 2021).
Please click below to explore a short introductory video on scholarly journals.
Access to scholarly journals and databases of scholarly journal collections (such as EBSCOHost’s Academic Search Complete or ProQuest Central) are extremely expensive and often require delicate curation to ensure that subscriptions meet the needs of constituents. The rising costs of journal subscriptions, along with the current sociopolitical climate has led to more researchers publishing their articles as Open Access.
Open Access journals are just that. The same high-level standard of research, but freely available to read by anyone with an internet connection and a link to the open article. While these resources are free to access authors do retain copyright to their work, so citations are still needed when referencing them (Central Michigan University, 2021). The transition to Open Access publishing has dramatically increased the number of potential researchers an author can reach. You no longer need to be a currently enrolled student in higher education to have access to reliable research!
Reflection
Join the conversation! Contribute to a working list with others who are taking this course by contributing to the following prompt:
What would you want in an informational source that would make you confident to use it in your argument(s)? What made you question a source that someone else has used to defend their arguments?:
Helpful Hints and Takeaways
When professors ask that you use scholarly resources in your findings, they are asking that you use these sources that are found through your library.
When reading scholarly articles you may find them very plain in their writing style. This is intentional. Removing identifying language (e.g., gender pronouns), speaking blandly without using adjectives, and focusing only on specifically stated objects removes bias and keeps the reader focused on the information presented.
When evaluating online resources, be ware of headlines that solicit emotions. These are increasingly seen online today to pull readers in without providing context. These headlines often use transitive verbs such as “so and so slams opponents arguments through video”. When you see this, expect to find little context and a lot of steering toward an audience that has already adopted a particular viewpoint.
Course Links
Follow this link to move on to Unit 2
Demystifying Scholarly Journals: Unit 2
Follow this link to go back to the course page:
Demystifying Scholarly Journals
References
Distinguishing Scholarly from Popular Resources—Sophomore Class: Wofford Library Resources and Services For—LibGuides at Wofford College. (n.d.). Wofford.edu. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://libguides.wofford.edu/sophomore/scholarlyvspopular
Open Access Resources—Website Research—Research Guides at Central Michigan University Libraries. (n.d.). cmich.edu. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://libguides.cmich.edu/web_research/oa
Scholarly Sources—Research Strategies—LibGuides at California State University, Northridge. (n.d.). Retrieved csun.edu. December 5, 2021, from https://libguides.csun.edu/research-strategies/scholarly
Study Help: Scholarly Sources Explained—YouTube. (n.d.). Youtube.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRCHdhdS_aU