How to Read Scholarly Sources
Grey Literature vs Peer Review
Definitions
Grey Literature is a category that includes media, resources, documents, data, etc. that was not produced by traditional academic or commercial publishing systems, which is often referred to as White Literature. More simply put, if a resource was not published in an scholarly journal it is likely considered Grey Literature.
Examples:
- Government reports
- Dissertations
- Court Transcripts
- Conference Proceedings
Scholarly sources (also referred to as academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed sources) are written by experts in a particular field and serve to keep others interested in that field up to date on the most recent research, findings, and news.
Content is adapted and quoted from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grey Literature Libguide.
Scholarly Articles
Scholarly Articles have gone through a particular process of review by experts in a given discipline or field. This image tracks the process from researchers to publication.
View this brief video, created by North Carolina State University Libraries, explaining the process: Peer View in 3 minutes (video)
- Anatomy of a Scholarly ArticleA brief, high level view of the basic structure of a scholarly article.
- Components of a Scholarly ArticleA more detailed explanation with accompanying examples of each section in a scholarly article.
While you Read
Reading a scholarly article isn’t like reading a novel, website, or newspaper article. It’s likely you won’t read and absorb it from beginning to end, all at once.
Instead, think of scholarly reading as inquiry, i.e., asking a series of questions as you do your research or read for class. Your reading should be guided by your class topic or your own research question or thesis.
For example, as you read, you might ask yourself:
- Is the article relevant to a class theme or to my own work?
- What questions does it help to answer, or what topics does it address?
- Does the article offer any unique perspectives or new information?
- Are these relevant or useful to me?
- Can I use the contents of the article in any other ways?
- Does the article offer a helpful framework for understanding my topic or question (theoretical framework)?
- Do the authors use interesting or innovative methods to conduct their research that might be relevant to me?
- Does the article contain references I might consult for further information?
Content taken from Brown's "Reading a Scholarly Article" guide
What is Evidence Based Practice?
Evidence-based practice (EBP) refers to the process where the practitioner combines well-researched interventions with clinical experience and ethics, and client preferences and culture to guide and inform the delivery of treatments and services (Social Work Policy Institute).
In social work, most agree that EBP is a process creating an answerable question based on a client or organizational need, locating all the best available evidence to answer the question, evaluating the quality of the evidence as well as its applicability, applying the evidence, and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution.
Source: Definition and image take from University of Houston Library SOCW 6305 Social Work Research Guide.
Evidence-Based Practice Resources
- National Association of Social Workers on Evidence based PracticeProvides research and information on evidence based practice within the field of Social Work.
- Evidence-Based Online Training ModulesProvides open access to training modules on a range of evidence-based practice topics and skills. Requires setting up a free account to view modules.
- The Community GuideProvides summaries of systematic review studies in an easy to use and evaluate format on a variety of topics.
- Evidence Synthesis: What is it?Learn more about the types of Evidence Synthesis, including relevant processes, such as searching, screening & extraction.
