Skip to Main Content

Office of Social Justice & Activism - OSJA

This guide supports the work that the Office of Social Justice & Activism and our Diversity Officer do on campus to educate, inform, and uplift our campus.

Popular and Scholarly Articles

Researchers need to know the difference between popular materials and scholarly materials--and when it's appropriate to use one or the other. 

Scholarly Articles Popular Articles
  • Authors are authorities in their fields, often affiliated with a college or university. Sources are cited in endnotes, footnotes, or bibliographies
  • Publications have little or no advertising (other than "ads" for professional conferences or organizations)
  • Articles must go through a peer-review process (in which an expert or several experts in the field review the work for accuracy)
  • Illustrations often take the form of charts and graphs with few, if any, glossy pictures
  • Articles use subject-specific vocabulary
  • Articles report on original research or experimentation--in other words, first-hand    experience with the material discussed (primary source)
  • Best to use when scholarly authority is needed
  • Authors are magazine staff members or freelance writers whose credentials aren't always included
  • Sources are often mentioned, but bibliographies aren't usually provided
  • Publications contain paid advertisements
  • Articles are not typically peer reviewed
  • Illustrations are numerous and colorful
  • Language is simple; no specialized knowledge of jargon is needed
  • Articles are short and meant to inform and entertain
  • Articles usually report on information second- or third-hand (secondary or tertiary sources)
  • Best to use for late-breaking news, a hot issue or trend, or brand new technology

SIFT method for evaluating resources

SIFT is a series of actions you can take to determine the validity and reliability of claims and sources on the web.

The SIFT method, or strategy, is quick and simple and can be applied to various kinds of online content: news articles, scholarly articles, social media posts, videos, images, etc.

Each letter in SIFT corresponds to one of the Four Moves:

A graphic explaining the SIFT Method: The S stands for STOP, the I stands for Investigate the Source, the F stands for find other coverage and the T stands for trace claim quotes and media back to their original context.

Stop

Investigate the source

Find better coverage

Trace claims, quotes and media to the original context

 

Find more details on the Four Moves from Mike Caulfield's SIFT (Four Moves), which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Related LC Call Numbers

E75-99 Indians of North America

  • E81-83 Indian wars
  • E99 Indian tribes and cultures 

E184.5-185.98 Afro-Americans

  • E185.2-185.89 Status and development since emancipation
  • E185.96-185.98 Biography. Genealogy 

GN537-674 Ethnic groups and races

  • GN550-674 By region or country 

HD6050-6305 Classes of labor

  • Including women, children, students, middle-aged and older persons, minorities

HM621-656 Culture

HM1041-1101 Social perception. Social cognition

  • Including perception of the self and others, prejudices, stereotype

HN1-995 Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform

  • HN50-995 By region or country

HT601-1445 Classes

  • HT621-635 Origin of social classes
  • HT641-657 Classes arising from birth Including royalty, nobility, commons
  • HT675-690 Classes arising from occupation
  • HT713-725 Caste system
  • HT731 Freedmen
  • HT751-815 Serfdom
  • HT851-1445 Slavery

HT1501-1595 Races

  • Including race as a social group and race relations in general

HV640-645 Refugee problems

HV3176-3199 Protection, assistance and relief. 

  • Social and public welfare by race or ethnic group

HV4005-4013 Immigrants

HV9950-9960  Criminology by region or country

LC2630-2638 Education of Asian Americans. Asians in the United States
LC2667-2698 Education of Latin Americans. Hispanic Americans
LC2680-2688 Education of Mexican Americans. Mexicans in the United States
LC2690-2698 Education of Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans in the United States
LC2699-2913 Education of Blacks. African Americans
LC3001-3501 Education of Asians
LC3503-3520 Education of Romanies. Gypsies
LC3551-3593 Education of Jews
LC3701-3740 Education of Immigrants or ethnic minorities. Bilingual schools and bilingual education
LC3745-3747 Education of Children of immigrants (First generation) 

PN841 Black literature (General)
PN851-(884) Comparative literature