INTL 380U Globalization and Difference in the Media: What is a Scholarly Source?

We're awash with information. Some of it is credible. Some is not. How can you spot the difference? Some things to consider:
-Who is the author? Are they qualified to speak on the topic?
-Who is the publisher? It is a university press, academic journal, or well-known organization?
-What is the argument, and is there a bias?
-What evidence do they use? Do they tell you where they found their information?
-When was the source written? Is the information still accurate?


 

1) When looking at an article, consider: 1) who wrote it, 2) where it was published 3) when it was published.

2) Scholarly articles will tell you where they found their facts, and will have footnotes, bibliographies, or citations. 

3) Academic articles will provide short biographies about the authors.


 

Still not sure? An easy trick is to use the scholarly-articles-only filters on our PSU Library databases: