resources types by dr. sam ang sam
TRANSCRIPT
RESOURCES:
TYPES, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND FORMS
Sam-Ang Sam, PhD
CONTENTS
1 Resources: Types, Classifications, and Forms
2 Resources: Types
3 Resources: Classifications
4 Resources: Forms
1 RESOURCES: TYPES, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND FORMS
Now that you have chosen a research topic and formed a
research question, it is time to begin searching for information
that you will use to write your paper.
As discussed earlier, there is a lot of information available to you.
It is important that you learn how to find the information you need
and use it properly.
To do this, you need to know where to look.
This chapter will explain all of the different types of academic
resources that are available and tell you where you can find
them.
RESOURCES: TYPES, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND FORMS
When you are looking for information, the library is a good place to
start.
When you studied in high school, you most likely only used textbooks,
however, if you visited your school library, you might have seen some
other types of materials in the library that you did not use regularly.
Some of them could have been newsletters or publications from non-
profit organizations.
In high school, you may not have needed these other types of
resources, because you were not required to write any research papers.
However, now that you are studying in a university, you will need much
more than simply a textbook when you are doing academic work.
RESOURCES: TYPES, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND FORMS
At a university level, in order to write a good secondary research
paper, you are required to use evidence (references) to support
your ideas. Evidence consists of academic resources.
There are many different kinds of resources and they can be
quite different from one another.
Some might be written for particular audiences, like scholars and
college students, while others are written for the general public.
It is important to understand the different kinds of resources you
can use and identify which resources you think are good fit for
your research paper.
RESOURCES: TYPES, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND FORMS
You also need to find out where you can access resources.
Are they available at the libraries physically, or can they be
accessed virtually?
Does your instructor require you to use any scholarly journal
articles?
Do you know what the differences are between a scholarly journal
and a magazine?
Can you use any information on the Internet to write a paper?
What kind of online resources can you use?
2 RESOURCES: TYPES
• The basic descriptions of each
resource below can help you
answer all of these questions and
help you figure out which resources
are suitable for your assignments.
RESOURCES: TYPES
1. Textbook
• A textbook is usually written about a specific subject that
is studied in a school or university.
• Generally a textbook provides a comprehensive
overview of a subject.
• You have probably used several different textbooks
during your time at the university.
• A textbook is considered a scholarly resource.
RESOURCES: TYPES
• It is written by experts in a particular field.
• Authors of a textbook usually hold a PhD degree and the
information is compiled very carefully.
• Thus, it is a credible resource for students to use as a reference
for their research paper.
• You must remember though, some textbook authors may be
biased, even though they are scholars.
• Therefore, it is important to evaluate textbooks, just like other
resources, which will be discussed later in this handbook.
RESOURCES: TYPES
2. NGO/International Organization (IO)/Government
Publications
• These are publications produced by organizations.
• These types of publications fall between popular resources and
scholarly resources.
• When you use them, you have to keep in mind that some of these
institutions might publish materials that serve their intended
purposes.
• They can be very helpful, but make sure to evaluate them
carefully.
RESOURCES: TYPES
3. Periodical
• There are many different types of periodicals.
• Periodicals are publications that are produced regularly (weekly,
monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, or yearly).
• Each periodical has a basic subject or topic, but each issue or
volume published may have different contents or articles related
to the major subject.
• Periodicals may include, but are not limited to, scholarly journals,
trade journals, professional journals, newspapers and magazines.
RESOURCES: TYPES
3.1 Scholarly Journal
• A scholarly journal might also be called research journal,
academic journal, or a peer-reviewed journal.
• Even though ‘scholarly journal’ and ‘peer-reviewed journal’ are
often used interchangeably, not all scholarly journals are peer-
reviewed.
• A peer-reviewed journal is a journal whose articles have been
reviewed by other experts in the field before being published.
• That makes them extra reliable and good sources for you to use
in your research papers.
RESOURCES: TYPES
• Cambodia has very few academic journals, and most of them are
not published regularly. However, there are a few.
• The Cambodia Law and Policy Journal (CLPJ) was launched in
2013, and the Cambodian Journal of Natural History was
launched in 2008. While Cambodia only has a few academic
journals, there are many regional and international journals that
may be helpful for your research.
• General characteristics of scholarly journals are further discussed
below in the section about resource classification.
RESOURCES: TYPES
3.2 Trade Journal
• A trade journal can be called a trade magazine.
• Its purpose is to provide information and news about a specific
business sector or industry.
• A trade journal is not considered a popular or scholarly resource.
• It is something a little bit different because it is specialized for a
specific audience.
RESOURCES: TYPES
3.3 Professional Journal
• A professional journal is a periodical that is published to serve the
needs of specific professions.
• There might be professional journals for dentists, doctors,
lawyers, teachers, etc. They are published by professional
organizations.
• These can be helpful as they contain articles, reports, and
information related to a specific profession.
RESOURCES: TYPES
3.4 Newspapers
• A newspaper is a periodical that is issued regularly and provides
people with current information.
• Newspapers, however, do not only include news, but also opinion
pieces, feature stories, advertisements, job opportunities, etc.
• They may be published daily, weekly, or monthly.
• In Cambodia, we have several newspaper titles.
• Some are published in printed versions, while others are online.
RESOURCES: TYPES
• If you choose newspaper articles to support your assignments,
you may need to evaluate them carefully before using them as a
reference.
• Some newspapers may not be reliable. Also, they might be bias
toward certain groups.
3.5 Magazine
• A magazine is a periodical that is issued regularly and may
contain several different types of material. Some contain articles,
essays, drawings, poems, advertisements, photographs, etc.
RESOURCES: TYPES
• Usually magazines have a major topic or subject area.
• This could be a hobby, news, sports, or maybe even a
geographical location.
• In Cambodia, we have several magazine titles. Most of them are
called popular magazines, which mainly talk about movie stars.
• Very few magazines are devoted to specific fields, such as The
Truth published by the Document Center of Cambodia.
• Please note that popular magazines are often not the right
sources to use to support your assignment.
RESOURCES: TYPES
3.6 Newsletters
• A newsletter is a publication put out by an organization,
institution, business or government agency to provide information
or news to specific groups such as employees, donors, or other
interested people.
• For example, an NGO might send out a newsletter to all of its
donors and participants to let them know about current and
upcoming projects and activities.
RESOURCES: TYPES
4 Case Study
• A case study is when information is
published about a specific group of people
or a situation.
• Usually this study takes place over a certain
length of time and provides in-depth
information about the subject of the study.
RESOURCES: TYPES
5 Working Paper
• A working paper is simply a paper that is still a work in
progress.
• Working papers are written to help start discussions
about a specific topic or to give information to others
who are interested in a topic.
• The information is not finalized and it could change.
RESOURCES: TYPES
6 Dissertation
• A dissertation is a very formal piece of
writing that covers a subject thoroughly.
• They are usually very long and are written in
order to earn a doctoral (PhD) degree.
RESOURCES: TYPES
7 Reference Materials
• Reference materials are materials used to find
facts or basic information about a subject, event,
place or person.
• The following resources are considered reference
materials.
• You can find these materials in the library, but
unlike other books, you cannot check them out.
RESOURCES: TYPES
7.1 Thesaurus
• A Thesaurus is a book full of synonyms and
anonyms for words.
• You can use a thesaurus to look for alternative
terms when you are conducting research.
• A thesaurus can also be a very helpful tool when
you are writing if you want to look for alternative
words to express meaning.
RESOURCES: TYPES
7.2 Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedias list basic information on many
topics.
• The topics are usually put in alphabetical order so
it is very easy to find what you are looking for.
• Encyclopedias are helpful when you are looking
for background information on a topic.
RESOURCES: TYPES
7.3 Handbook/Manuals
• A handbook is a practical guidebook that provides
precise direction on how to perform a specific
task.
• For example, the book that you are reading right
now is a handbook.
• It guides you through properly composing a
secondary research paper.
3 RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• Now that you know some of the different types of
resources, it is important to understand how they are
classified.
• Classifying resources helps us know which ones are
good to use for academic papers and which ones are
not.
• There are two different classifications that will be
discussed below: primary vs. secondary resources and
scholarly vs. popular resources.
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
3.1 Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
• When choosing resources to use for your academic
writing you need to know what kind of information you
are looking for.
• Generally, resources fall into one of two categories:
scholarly information or popular information.
• Both types of resources are valuable but in different
ways.
• Popular information is written for the general public.
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• The information is usually presented very simply and
does not use difficult, academic language.
• These sources may not be based on facts or research,
so they may not be helpful for your academic writing.
• Instead, you will need to use scholarly sources.
• Scholarly sources are written using research and facts.
• They are usually more reliable and are used in academic
settings (University of Georgia Libraries, 2013).
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• The differences in the two types of resources are explained
below.
• The following description on scholarly versus popular
sources is taken from the University of Georgia Libraries.
• Scholarly information communicates research findings and
stimulates discussion among academic professionals and
students.
• Scholarly sources strive to be authoritative, accurate, and
detailed, and they document the sources of the ideas they
contain.
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• Popular information is intended to inform and entertain a
more general audience.
• Popular sources attempt to attract readers by eye-catching
covers and illustrations, exciting headlines and high-interest
topics, and straightforward, non-technical language.
• Both types of information are valuable, but professors often
expect students to confine their research to scholarly
publications.
• There is no strict dividing line, so the challenge for you as a
student is:
CLASSIFICATIONS: EXAMPLE 1
• How can you tell which publications are scholarly?
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
3.2 Primary vs. Secondary and Tertiary Sources
• Now that you know how to determine whether
your sources are scholarly or popular, it is
important to figure out more specifically what kind
of information they contain.
• Is the information primary, secondary or tertiary?
• The different types and examples of each are
discussed below.
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• The following description and examples of primary,
secondary and tertiary sources are taken entirely from
Yale University Library. Please note that only a few
points were taken out in order to make the information
more relevant to Cambodian students.
3.2.1 Primary Sources
• Primary sources are original materials on which other research is
based.
• They are from the time period involved and have not been filtered
through interpretation or evaluation.
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• They are usually the first formal appearance of results in
physical, print or electronic format. They present original thinking,
report a discovery, or share new information.
Examples include:
• Literary creation: novels, short stories, poems, etc.
• Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools,
clothing, all from the time under study);
• Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
• Diaries;
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• Internet communications on email, listserves;
• Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail);
• Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications;
• Letters;
• Newspaper articles written at the time;
• Original Documents (i.e., birth certificate, will, marriage license,
trial transcript);
• Patents;
• Photographs
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia;
• Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual
report, treaty, constitution, government document);
• Speeches;
• Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls);
• Video recordings (e.g., television programs);
• Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings,
sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems).
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
3.2.2 Secondary Sources
• Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources.
• Generally, they are accounts written after the fact with the benefit
of hindsight.
• They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources.
• Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on
and discussion of evidence.
• However, what some define as a secondary source, others define
as a tertiary source. Context is everything.
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
Examples include:
• Bibliographies (also considered tertiary);
• Biographical works;
• Commentaries, criticisms;
• Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (also considered tertiary);
• Histories;
• Literary criticism such as Journal articles;
• Magazine and newspaper articles;
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography;
• Textbooks (also considered tertiary).
3.2.3 Tertiary Sources
• Tertiary sources consist of information that is a distillation and
collection of primary and secondary sources.
• Almanacs;
• Bibliographies (also considered secondary);
• Chronologies;
• Dictionaries and Encyclopedias (also considered secondary);
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• Directories;
• Fact books;
• Guidebooks;
• Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies used to locate primary and secondary
sources;
• Manuals;
• Textbooks (also be secondary).
(Yale University Library. (n.d.). Primary, Secondary & Tertiary sources. Retrieved
from: http://guides.library.yale.edu/content.php?pid=128822&sid=1187254)
CLASSIFICATIONS: EXAMPLE 2
• The table below gives examples and compares the three different types of sources .
RESOURCES: CLASSIFICATIONS
• So which type of information is best to use in your research
paper?
• Well, you can use all of them, but primary resources are
often the most reliable.
• Primary sources were created in the beginning, based on the
original material.
• This makes them more reliable because other authors who
might have had their own opinions about the information or
research study have not changed the information.
4 RESOURCES: FORMS
• Now that you know the types of resources and how they
are classified, you should be ready to start your
research.
• But how do you know where to find these resources?
• The resources described above can appear in both
physical and digital forms.
• This means you can find them in hard copy or soft copy.
RESOURCES: FORMS
4.1 Physical Form
• Physical resources can be printed resources or audio-
visual resources.
• You can find these resources at various libraries and
bookstores.
• The first library that you should visit is the PUC main
library.
• It has around 40,000 items in its collection.
RESOURCES: FORMS
• You may also consider visiting other libraries and
information centers housed at various institutions,
including government ministries, NGOs, and IOs.
4.2 Digital Form
• In general, digital resources can be accessed in three
ways: search engines, websites, and online article
databases.
RESOURCES: FORMS
4.2.1 Search Engines
• There are several search engines that you can use to
access digital resources.
• As many of you know, the most popular one is Google.
• It is very popular because it is easy to use and free of
charge.
• Unfortunately, most academic resources are not
available via Google.
RESOURCES: FORMS
4.2.2 Websites
• You also can access digital resources directly from
various websites, but it is important that you know how
to evaluate those websites to make sure they are
reliable sources.
• Generally information on a websites is free of charge.
RESOURCES: FORMS
4.2.3 Article Databases
• Article databases provide access to several scholarly
resources.
• Most of them are not free, and you cannot access them
via search engines.
• Fortunately, PUC subscribes to these databases and
that enables you to access around 60 databases
containing millions of articles for free.
RESOURCES: FORMS
• Special Note: Since Cambodia publishes very few
scholarly journals, Cambodian students have to rely a lot
on NGO/IO/government publications and renowned
newspapers if they are conducting secondary research
on a local topic.
DOCUMENT FILE LOCATION
File: L4_resources_types.pptx
Date: 18/12/14
Running: