FYS 120T: Cues, College and Contentment

Welcome to the Library Research Guide for FYS 120: Cues, College, and Contentment! It includes information and resources designed to aid you in locating research and managing sources for your assignments this semester.

For research questions:

• Email me at schaez1@stolaf.edu or schedule a research consultation if you have any questions!

For writing help:

• Make an appointment with the Writing Desk for assistance with organizing ideas and improving your writing style.

Slide 1: FYS 120: Cues, College, and Contentment Library Session(s)

Slide 2: 

Ann Schaenzer
Research & Instruction Librarian for Social Sciences and Data Literacy
schaez1@stolaf.edu
[Image: photo of Ann Schaenzer.]

Slide 3:

[Image: photo of Ann in a shark costume with other colleagues from Library & IT at the Safety Carnival in Fall 2024.]

Slide 4: Our goals today are…

• Take time to brainstorm with your group
• Discuss the differences between scholarly and popular articles, and primary and secondary sources
• Talk about evaluating sources
• Time to make plans with your group!

Slide 5: What is a popular article?

Sometimes called "popular" or general interest sources, journalists report on interviews and/or research done by others. Popular articles generally... 
Are intended for a general readership 

• Include eye-catching images designed to draw in readers
• Share previously published research; may report on multiple studies and give background information
• Feature interviews or quotes from one or more people affected by or involved with the topic
• Written by journalists, columnists, magazine staff writers, or freelance writers
• Refer to published sources but rarely contain in-text citations or footnotes
• May include data or statistics but might not indicate how the data was collected or interpreted

[Images: covers of two popular sources: The Atlantic and Newsweek.]

Slide 6: What is a scholarly article?

Scholarly articles are articles in which researchers share findings from their original research in journals specific to their subject area. Scholarly articles generally...

• Intended for a specialist readership of researchers, academics, students, and professionals 
• Are written by specialists and researchers with expertise in the subject area
• Use a standard format with few or no ads or images
• Present researchers' findings and conclusions based on original research
• Have charts and graphs that show original data analysis conducted by the researchers
• Are peer-reviewed
• Has citations and references indicating an ongoing scholarly conversation on the topic
• Include a bibliography of sources

[Images: covers of two scholarly journals: The Journal of Personality and Nature.]

Slide 7: Let’s identify sources!

Slide 8: Is this a popular or scholarly article?

Leibowitz, K., & Crum, A. (2020). In Stressful Times, Make Stress Work for You. New York Times (Online).

Slide 9: Is this a popular or scholarly article?

Guérin, E., Strachan, S., & Fortier, M. (2019). Exercise and well-being: Relationships with perceptions of exercise identity-behaviour consistency, affective reactions to exercise and passion. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17(5), 445–458.

Slide 10: Primary and Secondary Sources

Slide 11: What is a primary source?

“Primary sources are documents, images or artifacts that provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a …  topic under research investigation.” - UCI Libraries
Example: [Image: a line graph showing Hours Asleep by Date on the X-axis and Hours Asleep on the Y-axis.]

Slide 12: What is a secondary source?

A secondary source usually uses primary sources and offers interpretation, analysis, or commentary. These resources often present primary source information with the addition of extra context and/or comparisons.
Example: [Image: cover of the book The Sleep of Others and the Transformation of Sleep Research and a link to the book's Catalyst entry.]

Slide 13: Let’s identify sources!

Slide 14: Is this a primary or secondary source?

[Image: Podcast episode from TED Radio Hour titled Do your brain a favor: move your body and a link to the podcast.]

Interview with Dr. Wendy Suzuki on her college experiences and becoming a neuroscientist

Slide 15: Is this a primary or secondary source?

[Image: Cover of Student Wellness and Academic Libraries: Case Studies and Activities for Promoting Health and Success and a link to the book's Catalyst entry.]

Slide 16: Group coordination time!

Use the rest of class time to chat with your team members! Some suggestions on how to use this time include:

• Continue to discuss the topic you’re interested in researching
• Talk as a group about how your roles and/or how you’d like to divide the work
• Figure out when and where you’d like to meet outside of class for your various upcoming group assignments

And ask your professor and Ann questions!