Communication 338

Normal and Disordered Speech and Language Development in Young Children

Professor Potanos

Fall 2007

 

Scholarly vs Popular sources
Database Sources for Articles
Resources for Writing and Citing
Contact info

 

What is a professional or scholarly journal?

For your assignment, you are being asked to look at articles from scholarly or professional journals, not articles from popular press sources.

How can you tell the difference?

Scholarly publications publish journals. Popular press publications publish magazines. Journals and magazines are very different from each other. Here are some guidelines for telling the difference:

Appearance:

Scholarly journals are print-heavy. They contain few glossy pictures. They may have tables or charts or photographs, but the graphics are a part of the article, not editorial additions. Scholarly journals do not have many advertisements, and those they do have are usually collected at the back of the journal and are subject specific (in other words they are for products or services that professionals in a field would use--not food or toys or clothing as an example).

Audience:

Who was the article written for? Scholarly articles are written for professionals in an academic or research field. They talk about study findings, theories or concepts, the state of research, etc. Popular articles are written for a general audience. These articles might talk about the same general subjects as scholarly articles, but they discuss it in less detail and without assuming specialized knowledge on the part of the reader.

Author:

What kind of job job does the author have? What are the author's credentials?

  • Popular press articles are written by reporters. The author's name may or may not appear with the article. Reporters are not experts on the subjects they write about. They get the information for the article by interviewing people and doing some general research.
  • Scholarly articles are written by professionals in the field. These articles are meant to share a researcher's work with other professionals. An author (or authors) name will appear with the article, as well as any credentials or affiliations that person has.

Language:

How does this article sound? What educational level is the article written for? Does the author use specialized language (or jargon)? Does the author assume some level of background knowledge on the part of the reader? Popular press articles are written in more general language for a general audience.

References:

Scholarly articles always contain bibliographies, works cited lists or references. Popular press articles do not.

 

Here are some links to websites with more information on locating and identifying scholarly articles:

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Finding Articles in the Library

There are several different database sources that will contain the kinds of articles that you need for your assignment.

Search for articles in multiple databases simultaneously using WebFeat.

How do I find out if the Library has the journal I need? 3 easy steps:

  • Full Text Periodicals Available Online ~ Search for the journal/magazine title, e.g. Western Journal of Communication or Newsweek.
  • Check I-Share for the journal/magazine title (not the article title), e.g. Journal of Communication.
  • To order an article the Elmhurst College library does not own, fill in this form: Request an article.

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Resources for Writing and Citing

Resources for writing abstracts:

Resources for APA (American Psychological Association) Style:

You are being asked to use American Psychological Association style guidelines for your paper and for your bibliography. Here are some online guides for using this method (note that the APA website has updates only--not the actual style guide:

For more help with writing your abstract or bibliography contact the Writing Center at Elmhurst College.

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Have questions or need help?

If you need any help finding articles or writing, you can also contact the Reference Desk any time the library is open:

Phone: 630-617-3173
Email: ref[at[elmhurst[dot]edu


AIM: elmhrstcollibref |  Yahoo!Messenger: eclibraryreference | MSN Messenger: ref[at]elmhurst.edu

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This page was created on September 19, 2006, and last updated on September 18, 2007 by Peg Cook, Assistant Reference & Instruction Librarian

A.C. Buehler Library Website