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The extended essay requires in depth scholarly research. BOOKS and ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLES (available in the library databases) will be your go to resources. |
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AUTHORITY: No matter the type of source, you must identify who is responsible for the content, and determine their credentials, expertise and overall qualification as a recognized expert in the field.
Is the book or article written by an historian, professor or other highly qualified individual?
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to develop your overall understanding of your subject, before attempting to digest the scholarly sources. Without that basic understanding of the subject, the scholarship will go over your head. IB states that 10 or more hours of background reading are standard for the extended essay. Some of your initial background reading may come from general or reference sources, but those would not count as sources and should not be cited in the paper or noted in the Works Cited. |
BIBLIOGRAPHIES & NOTECARDS Books which contain collections of signed articles by scholars in the field, book reviews from professional journals, and bibliographies of useful sources can lead you to other authors, titles, or topics for continued research. Take advantage of these! Create note cards in Noodletools and take notes carefully—in your own words—and don’t forget page numbers for your in-text citations when citing from print sources.
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Finding the right informationDepending on your learning or assessment, you'll need different types of information throughout your learning journey. Knowing the right type, and how to find it, will be key to your success.
Learn about the different types of resources you can use to search for information. This helps you understand which resources will be the most appropriate to use when you are searching for information for your assignments.
Subscription databases
For more information about evaluating sources try this link to Berkeley Library at the University of California
Finding Scholarly ArticlesPeriodicals are anything published periodically, and is generally interchangeable with Serials. Usually refers to print medium, although Serials can refer to a variety of mediums (such as tv programs) as well as print. Examples:
journals | magazines | conference proceedings | annual reports | tv programs | trade publications | newspapers
Magazines - commercial publications intended for a general, popular audience for the purpose of informing and entertaining.
Journals - specialized, scholarly publications written by authorities in the field. They usually include bibliographies.
What is peer review?
Peer review is part of the editorial process an article goes through before it is published in a peer-reviewed journal. When you need a peer-reviewed article for a paper, what you are really looking for is an article published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Once an article is submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, the journal editors send that article to "peers" or scholars in the field to evaluate the article. These scholars review the methodology and conclusions of the article, looking for bias and other flaws. They may reject the article, in which case the author may have the opportunity to re-write it, or they can accept the article. In this case, the article then goes on to final editing and publication.
Please be aware, just because a journal is peer reviewed does not mean everything in that journal is peer reviewed. Each issue of a journal may have letters to the editor, opinion pieces, or book reviews; these materials are not peer reviewed.
Distinguishing Between Primary & Secondary Sources
1. Introduction
Whether conducting research in the social sciences, humanities (especially history), arts, or natural sciences, the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary source material is essential. Basically, this distinction illustrates the degree to which the author of a piece is removed from the actual event being described, informing the reader as to whether the author is reporting impressions first hand (or is first to record these immediately following an event), or conveying the experiences and opinions of others—that is, second hand.
2. Primary sources
These are contemporary accounts of an event, written by someone who experienced or witnessed the event in question. These original documents (i.e., they are not about another document or account) are often diaries, letters, memoirs, journals, speeches, manuscripts, interviews and other such unpublished works. They may also include published pieces such as newspaper or magazine articles (as long as they are written soon after the fact and not as historical accounts), photographs, audio or video recordings, research reports in the natural or social sciences, or original literary or theatrical works.
3. Secondary sources
The function of these is to interpret primary sources, and so can be described as at least one step removed from the event or phenomenon under review. Secondary source materials, then, interpret, assign value to, conjecture upon, and draw conclusions about the events reported in primary sources. These are usually in the form of published works such as journal articles or books, but may include radio or television documentaries, or conference proceedings.
4. Defining questions
When evaluating primary or secondary sources, the following questions might be asked to help ascertain the nature and value of material being considered:
Ultimately, all source materials of whatever type must be assessed critically and even the most scrupulous and thorough work is viewed through the eyes of the writer/interpreter. This must be taken into account when one is attempting to arrive at the 'truth' of an event.
UC Santa Cruz University Library
