Information literacy
Sources: What are they good for? Think BEAM 1 Q: If a researc h report is in my own words, developed from my own thinking about an issue, and requires that I justify my own research question, then why do I need to read a lot of sources? A: Research sources help support your ideas and allow you to enter into the academic conversation about the topic you’re discussing. Often you’ll hear people talk about primary (empirical) and secondary ( literature reviews) sources in psychology. However , there a se cond way to think about sources, outline d below. Kind of source Explanation Example from psychology B (background) Any source, that provides context. It is assumed to be uncontroversial. This information is shared in the academic community . These sources commonly appear in the first couple of paragraphs in your introduction or literature review. Current statistics on intimate partner violence Shared knowledge about gender socialization Crime statistics for rape An anecdote about bullying in schools E (exhibits or evidence derived from exhibits) Empirical data from research designs including observational, correlational, or experimental findings. Exhibits are often used as evidence within the writer’s argument.
Evidence may be used in the introduction or to draw comparison in the “discussion” section. Also used in literature reviews. Evidence of a relationship from observational data Evidence of causal relationship from an experiment Evidence of a correlational relationship from sur vey data Evidence of treatment improvement due to an experiment A (argument sources) Relevant scholarship surrounding a writer’s question. Constitutes a “they say” in a debate about an issue (e.g., they say violent media does not cause aggression, I say i t do es). Summaries of an argument helps create a literature review which aims to show what is still unknown or unresolved. Scholarly papers (empirical papers and literature reviews) that show that gender differences in mate choice do and do not exist. pcholarly papers that show that some people can detect lies , and papers that show that most people fail to detect lies in others. M (method or theory sources) References to theories or methods the writer is employing. Citations regarding specific theories about the topic of research. Citations for research methodologies.
Could include citations for validated measures and scales, research/lab procedures, or statistical procedures. 1 Adapted from Bizup (2008) as cited in Bean, J. (2011). Engaging ideas . San Francisco, CA: Jossey -Bass.