FYS 120T: Cues, College and Contentment
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Research & Instruction Librarian for Social Sciences & Data Literacy
Welcome!
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.
Keep Track of Your Searches
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Keyword/Database TrackerThis sample Google Spreadsheet illustrates one method of keeping track of your keyword searches. See the "Example Sheet" (linked at the bottom of the page) for an example of how you might write your notes. To make a copy of this file and use it for your own notetaking, click File > Make a Copy, then save your copy to your Google Drive.
Scholarly and Popular Sources In-class Slideshow
In-class Slideshow
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!
- Last Updated: Sep 3, 2025 3:07 PM
- URL: https://libraryguides.stolaf.edu/fys120t
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