Information Life Cycle and Source Types:
In this module you will locate a newspaper and a journal article on your topic and compare the two. First, read through and watch the videos linked from the Evaluation of Print Sources tab, especially the page about Information Life Cycle & Source Types, within the Library Research E-Textbook available at: http://researchguides.canton.edu/etextbook_student
When youre reading a newspaper or popular magazine article (e.g., New York Times or Newsweek) youll often come across mentions of research studies. In this exercise, you will:
· Find and read a newspaper article on your topic
· Find and read a journal article on your topic
· Compare the newspaper article and journal article in order to become familiar with different kinds of articles and information available on a topic
Step 1 – Find a newspaper article on your topic
Using the Academic Search Completedatabase, locate a newspaper article on your topic. You can find Academic Search Complete under the Research Databaseslink on library homepage.
Provide the citation information for the newspaper article below:
Article title:
Author:
Newspaper title:
Date of publication:
Task 2 – Find a scholarly journal article on your topic
While at SUNY Canton, youll be asked to find and incorporate information from scholarly or research or peer-reviewed articles in your course papers and projects.
Using the Academic Search Completedatabase, find an academic journal article on your topic. As you skim the journal article, note the kind of information that is presented. How does it differ from the news article?
Article title:
Author:
Journal title:
Date of publication, volume and issue number:
Task 3 – Compare the news article and the research study by answering the following questions:
News article
Peer-reviewed research article
Who typically writes these kinds of articles (e.g., what profession)?
Who typically reads these kinds of articles?
When and how are these kinds of articles available (e.g., the day of the event, through a library)?
What kind of information do you find in the article (e.g., general overview, statistical data)?
Task 5 – Respond to the following prompts:
1. In your own words, please describe the information life cycle as if youre explaining it to a friend or classmate:
2. In your own words, please describe why someone would choose to cite scholarly or peer-reviewed journal articles in academic work:
