ENG 123 Lecture 11: Intermediate Composition Lecture Notes 11
Evaluating Sources
Scholarly Sources
-Written by and for experts in a field of study, frequently professors or academic researchers
-Can be challenging to read/understand because they use the language of the field, which may be unfamiliar to
those outside the discipline
-Considered reliable because the contents are written by specialists and peer reviewed before publication
0Tend to delve deeply into a subject, focusing on a specific issue or argument. Contain a great deal of original
research
-Published by University press, a scholarly organization, or a commercial publisher
Popular Sources
-Written to entertain and educate the general public
-Written by journalists who have conducted research and interviewed experts
-May include original research, especially on current events or emerging trends
-Mainly report on and summarize original research
-Written for interested, non specialist readers
-Reliability varies. Major publications that fact check and conduct original research will probably work for this
class
Trade Publications
-Periodicals that report on news and technical advances in a specific industry
-Witten for those employed in the industry
-May be appropriate for this paper, especially in the sciences, but they are intended for a specialist audience
-May focus on marketing products on professionals in the field
Who Published It?
-Can help you gauge its reliability and the publication's slant
-Determine if it was published by a commercial publisher, a university press, a corporation, an organization, an
interest group, a government agency, or the author of his or her own
Online Sources
-If your source is on the internet, look at the Url to find its top level domain
:gov-government
:org-nonprofict organization
:edu-educational institutions
:com-businesses and commercial enterprises
:net-usually businesses or organizations associated with online networks
:mil-military
Online Sources
-Look at websites very carefully
-Determine who sponsors the site: a business, a professional group, a private organization, an educational
institution, a government agency, or an individual? Check the "about us" portion to figure this out
-Also, use a publisher's website to answer these questions:
:Does the publisher offer works from multiple perspectives?
: Do the works it publishes cover a wide variety of topics or focus on a particular array?
:Does the publisher's website hose links to a particular type of site?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Written by and for experts in a field of study, frequently professors or academic researchers. Can be challenging to read/understand because they use the language of the field, which may be unfamiliar to those outside the discipline. Considered reliable because the contents are written by specialists and peer reviewed before publication. 0tend to delve deeply into a subject, focusing on a specific issue or argument. Published by university press, a scholarly organization, or a commercial publisher. Written to entertain and educate the general public. Written by journalists who have conducted research and interviewed experts. May include original research, especially on current events or emerging trends. Major publications that fact check and conduct original research will probably work for this class. Periodicals that report on news and technical advances in a specific industry. May be appropriate for this paper, especially in the sciences, but they are intended for a specialist audience. May focus on marketing products on professionals in the field.
