Scholarship is like a conversation where ideas are created, debated, and weighed against one another over time. Information users and creators come together to discuss meaning, with the effective researcher adding his or her voice to the conversation.
Researchers talk to each other even across great expanses of time. They gather new ideas into old questions. There may be many answers to a single question. A researcher may have to earn the right or "learn the rules" to speak in a given conversation, depending on who is already "in the room". It might not be fair. When someone adds a new idea, they must say whose ideas they gathered to get that far.
OutcomesAfter viewing the material in 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5, try the self-check quiz below.
Note: you will need to access the database Academic Search Complete to answer some of the questions.
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Used with permission from UW Libraries / Kali Stoeher & Anna Eisen: Research 101: Scholarship as Conversation
Research 101: Scholarship is a Conversation Transcript available at bottom of box
A single source represents the views of that author. Each source you find is not the only opinion or viewpoint on a matter. As a researcher, you need to seek out multiple sources to have an understanding of the different parts of the conversation on that topic.
ExampleThere are differing ideas on the best way to handle our energy needs and even differences in how to move to cleaner energy.
The following articles all discuss clean energy but have a different take. They are different voices in the clean energy conversation.
Laird, Frank N., et al. "Advancing Clean Energy." Issues in Science and Technology, vol. 33, no. 3, 2017, p. 5+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A491843147/OVIC?u=lincclin_phcc&sid=OVIC&xid=bfe326aa.
Ropeik, David. "Clean Energy Mind Games: If Policy Makers Want To Accelerate the Transition To a Low-Carbon Economy, They Should Heed the Lessons of the Decision Sciences and Take Another Look At Nuclear Energy." Issues in Science and Technology, vol. 33, no. 4, 2017, p. 59+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A499863897/OVIC?u=lincclin_phcc&sid=OVIC&xid=12ff3cd1.
Sivaram, Varun. "Unlocking Clean Energy." Issues in Science and Technology, vol. 33, no. 2, 2017, p. 31+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A478823111/OVIC?u=lincclin_phcc&sid=OVIC&xid=2147dc3f.
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As a student, you are walking into the middle of a scholarly conversation when you start your research. That first article you find is not the beginning of the conversation, nor is it the end. Unlike newspaper articles, magazine articles, and tweets, scholarly articles list a series of sources that that article and its author(s) used. Usually, these are listed under "references" at the end of the article and can be several pages long.
In turn, that paper you found might be cited by other authors. This is how the scholarly conversation continues over time.
ExampleThis article by Fabricio Balcazar was published in 2012 ...
Balcazar, Fabricio, et al. "A Case Study of Liberation among Latino Immigrant Families Who Have Children with Disabilities." American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 49, no. 1/2, Mar. 2012, pp. 283-293. Academic Search Complete, doi:10.1007/s10464-011-9447-9.
It cites this article by Manuel Garcia-Ramirez which was published in 2010 ...
García-Ramírez, Manuel, et al. "A Liberation Psychology Approach to Acculturative Integration of Migrant Populations." American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 47, no. 1/2, 2010, pp. 86-97. Academic Search Complete, doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9372-3.
In his article, Manuel Carcia-Ramirez had cited a different article by Fabricio Balcazar which was published in 2004!
Balcazar, Fabricio E., et al. "The Need for Action When Conducting Intervention Research: The Multiple Roles of Community Psychologists." American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 33, no. 3/4, June 2004, pp. 243-252. Academic Search Complete, db20.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=13698736&site=ehost-live
This is how the scholarly conversation happens!
Using References and Citations to Find SourcesOne way to find additional sources in your research is by citation chaining. When you find an article, look for articles that it cites, and look for articles which cite the first article you found.
When you search the library catalog (Primo) for articles, you will sometimes see an icon on an item in your results list that looks like a "Y" with arrows -- a fork in the road.
If you hover your cursor over that icon, you will see the text: Find sources citing this.
When you click that icon, you will be taken to a page that will list sources (other articles) that are citing the article you were looking at. If there are "no records found" you can choose to view any non full-text results (you would need to request an interlibrary loan to get access to these).
If we look at non full text results we have two that appear for this work
In these new results we see a new icon. It looks like a "Y" but with a down arrow. This is the symbol used for "find sources cited in this".
If you find an article that is useful and want to see other articles that cite it, look for the "find sources citing this" Icon. If you find a useful article and want to see other articles that it cites, look for the "find sources cited in this" Icon
Some articles won't have this option, some will have one but not the other, and some will have both, like this example:
Both of these options are a great way to find additional relevant resources on your topic.
Take advantage of these links in the catalog and any databases that offer these links to cited sources, they can help you understand the conversation that has been going on about your research topic.
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In order to follow the scholarly conversations going on, you need to understand how to read citations. The section Information Has Value, will go into citations in greater depth.
What are Citations?Citations give credit to the originator of a work. They indicate which ideas are taken from someone else and who that person is. These citations allow researchers to find, read, and respond to each others' sources. These citations keep the scholarly conversation going.
Imagine you walk up to a group of fellow students talking about an upcoming test in Microbiology. You walk up and say, "I heard the test is canceled!". Another student in the group immediately asks you, "Where did you hear that?" or "How do you know?" Basically, they are asking you to cite your source! If your answer is "It's a rumor going around", your fellow students are less likely to believe it without further verification. But if your answer was, "I just saw it posted in Canvas. Our instructor put out an announcement." your fellow students would be much more likely to believe that the test was canceled.
Citations in a research paper work the same way. Some sources are given a bit more weight. Learning how to read for citations can help you find sources.
Reading for CitationsYou are researching "red tide" and you find the following news article:
Miller, Sara B. "Red Tide Puts Strain on Northeast." Christian Science Monitor, 10 June 2005, p. 2. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A133117036/ITOF?u=lincclin_phcc&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=26d54767.
While reading you come across the following information:
"Our problem [in estimating] is that ... [the red tide is] going farther than we've ever seen," says Don Anderson, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod. One long-term impact, he continues, could be the bloom's cysts dropped in the region, potentially leading to future outbreaks. This red tide differs from those of Florida, where the air often smells and the water turns red. In the Northeast, the term can be misleading, says Dr. Anderson - and potentially dangerous: New Englanders tend to say, "Well, the water isn't red, therefore it's got to be safe."
This news article is interesting but it also is quoting a scientist working on the issue of red tide, Dr. Don Anderson. If you do some Google searching you will find the website for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution which has the Anderson Lab which works on issues including red tide and which mentions other publications by Dr. Anderson.
Once you found that news article with the quote from Dr. Don Anderson, you could do a follow-up search looking for his research:
Learn to read in-text citations to follow-up on some potentially great sources. Learning to read the full citations will help you track down some of those sources as well, and give you clues about what type of source it is.
Here is the MLA style citation for the article pictured above, "Turning Back the Harmful Red Tide".
Anderson, Donald M. "Turning Back the Harmful Red Tide." Nature, vol. 388, no. 6642, 07 Aug. 1997, p. 513. Academic Search Complete, db20.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9708140875&site=ehost-live.
When "reading" a citation you want to pay attention to the following:
These items will be helpful in trying to track down that source.
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After viewing the material in 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5, try the self-check quiz below.
Note: you will need to access the database Academic Search Complete to answer some of the questions.