FTS: Psychology of Gender: Choosing 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.

Though many databases let you limit a search to scholarly articles, they aren't foolproof. As an example, they will include book reviews, which are not reporting original research and may not be what your course instructor has in mind. When in doubt, check with your professor. And take a look at "Anatomy of a Scholarly Article" from North Carolina State University Library.

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 In the humanities, a primary source is a historical document, such as a diary, memoir, a work of art, a news account published when an event was fresh - something from the historical period under examination, unfiltered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 (a "review article") that has been conducted to provide an overview of research on a given topic.

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 summarizes knowledge in 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 our guide to primary sources available in our library.

As you search, keep track of the most promising sources and then look at them closely, asking yourself these questions.

• Is it relevant? Does this source help me accomplish my task?
• Is it timely? Is it too dated? 
• Is it written for an appropriate audience? Has it repackaged information in a way that oversimplifies it? Will my reader expect more technical or scholarly information than this? (Length also is a clue here - a scholarly article rarely is under 10 pages long.)
• Is it authoritative? Are there clues that tell me why I (and my reader) should rely on this source? Who is the author and what are her/his credientials? (You might Google the author's name to fine some of this information if it is not provided.) What sources are used by the author to support her/his claims (and are there footnoes)? Why does the author present this information, and does that purpose suggest a particular bias? Does it analyze dispassionately - or advocate for a particular stance? (Advocacy isn't bad - but you may have to see how others approach the issues.)
• Does it makes sense? Does the information hang together logically? Does it provide evidence for its claims that you find persuasive? 

When you aren't an expert, it may seem daunting to evaluate the work others have published, but a book's table of contents or an article's opening paragraphs will help establish relevance. The language it is written in will help you decide if it is scholarly enough and yet not too highly technical for your purposes. Information given about the author might help you decide how much an authority he or she is. For Web sources, follow links to information "about this site" or to an author's home page, or shorten the URL to everything up to the first slash to see what its parent page looks like. When in doubt, check with your instructor.

Compare: In addition to looking at the quality of individual sources, compare them so that you can see where there are differences and conflicts. Even if you are heading toward a particular conclusion, you want to discuss alternative perspectives so your reader gets the big picture.

Corroborate: If you feel as if you're going out on a limb, try to corroborate the information you want to use in another source. A reference librarian can help you do that.

Summer Research Help:

• Email folke@gustavus.edu (please include your name, the best way to contact you, and a brief description of your research needs)
• 24/7 chat (during the summer months, monitored by librarians from other colleges & universities)

Fall & Spring Semester Research Help:

24/7 Chat: When Gustavus librarians are not available, librarians from other institutions will be available to help you 24/7.

Research Help Appointments: Schedule a one-on-one consultation with a Gustavus librarian; both in person and virtual appointments are available.

Research Next Steps Program:  Fill out this form at any point in your research; a librarian will respond with suggestions and tips within two business days.

E-mail: folke@gustavus.edu (please include your name, the best way to contact you, and a brief description of your research needs)