After an introduction by the instructor, students apply definitions of popular, professional, and scholarly sources to categorize sources on a handout. Then the instructor discusses the answers with them.
Other activities in this series: Activity 2A, Primary, Secondary, Or Tertiary?
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Distinguish between popular, professional, and scholarly sources.
Relevant Threshold Concepts
- Authority is constructed and contextual.
- Information creation as a process.
Suggestions for Use
- This activity should be helpful in classes where students will be planning which kinds of sources they should consider for their research projects.
- Consider using this activity back-to-back with Activity 2A, Primary, Secondary, Or Tertiary?, which teaches students to distinguish between primary, secondary, or tertiary sources in a very similar way. Then using Activities 3B, Meeting Needs with Sources I and Activity 3C, Meeting Needs with Sources II, will help students understand which categories of sources can meet their information needs for their research projects.
- Students can complete Handout 2B-1 electronically or in print.
- Consider customizing Handout 2B-1 so students practice with an event and sources more related to your discipline. You could simply replace the event (bridge collapse) and the sources with something more related to your discipline.
Pre-Class Preparation
- Review the handout and answer key for this activity.
- Review In-Class Procedure below.
- Read Choosing and Using Sources, Chapter 2, Types of Sources.
- If you decided you want your students to practice with sources more related to your discipline, customize Handout 2B-1. Simply replace the event (bridge collapse) and the sources with something more related to your discipline. Adjust Answer Key 2B-1 at the same time.
- Decide whether you want students to complete Handout 2B-1 on paper or electronically.
- If you decided on an electronic handout, put Handout 2B-1 in your learning management system.
- If you decided on paper copies, print Handout 2B-1 (1 copy per student and 1 for yourself) and Answer Key 2B-1 (1 copy for yourself).
- Consider assigning students to read Chapter 2, Types of Sources, before class.
- Prepare to introduce the session, using your own remarks or In-Class Procedure, if it is helpful.
- Using Answer Sheet 2B-1, plan your discussion of the answers on the handout.
- Download and perhaps print In-Class Procedure and Answer Key 2B-1 so you can take them with you to class.
In-Class Procedure
- If you’re having students use printed copies of Handout 2B-1, pass them out or set them where students can pick them up as they come in.
- If you’re having students use an electronic Handout 2B-1, tell them how to find and open it.
- Introduce the session by pointing out to students that sources for research projects are not all the same. They vary in several ways, including in their format—whether they are in print or online, for instance. They also differ in how they can be used for the project—how they can be made to function to help the project. For instance, a source might be a great overview to a topic that a student can learn from but it may not be helpful at all about answering his/her research question.
- If students did Activity 2A earlier, remind them that they have already categorized sources into primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, which has to do with how close a source is to its original version.
- Tell them that sources also differ by whom they are intended for. For instance, is a source intended for everyone, such as those publications near the check-out lane in a grocery store and articles on most websites? Or is it just for selected individuals who might find it helpful in their work? Or would only scholars and other very educated people be interested? It’s distinguishing between sources for different audiences that is the focus in this activity.
- Make sure that they realize that a source can be in more than one category but not within more than one group within the same category. For instance, a source could be categorized by both its intended audience and by whether it is a primary, secondary, or tertiary source. For example, Einstein’s first journal article about relativity is both a primary source and a scholarly source. But in the category about intended audience, a source couldn’t be both a popular source and a scholarly source.
- Ask students to complete Handout 2B-1 by applying the definitions at the top to answer the questions that start in the middle. Give them a deadline of 5 minutes.
- After about 5 minutes, go over the answers with students. Ask for and answer questions they may have.
Relevant Choosing & Using Sources Chapters:
Chapter 2, Types of Sources.
Credit: Daniel Dotson of Ohio State University Libraries contributed to this activity.
