Gingrich Library: FYS 100P -- Healthy Living in College (Fall 2023): Reputable Sources--Scholarly Articles & Websites

Scholarly Articles for Your Final Paper

For much of your research in college, your professors will require you to use scholarly, academic sources. For your final paper for this course you are required to use scholarly sources. These sources are written by experts and researchers in a particular field of study. Many are peer reviewed, meaning that before publication they have been sent to other experts to verify the value and accuracy of the article. Below is a table to help you decide if a resource is scholarly.

Scholarly vs. Popular

Characteristics	Scholarly Journal	Popular Magazine
Length	Articles are usually 10 pages or more in length; providing in-depth analysis of topics	Shorter articles (less than 10 pages), providing broader overview of topics
Written by	Author usually an expert or specialist in the field, name and credentials always provided	Author usually a journalist or a staff writer, name and credentials often not provided
Language/Written for	Written in technical language for professors, researchers, students of the field	Written at high school level for the general public
Coverage	Original research results and scholarship	Popular topics and current events
Slant	Supposed to present objective/neutral viewpoint;	May reflect the editorial bias/slant of the magazine
Frequency	Usually quarterly	Usually weekly
Format/Structure	Articles usually structured, may include: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography	Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure
Special Features	Illustrations that support the text, such as, tables of statistics, graphs, diagrams, maps, or photographs	Illustrations with glossy paper or color photographs
Appearance	Serious and sober, with few colors and few or no advertisements	Glossy, with pictures and advertisements
Editors	Articles usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (known as refereed or peer-reviewed)	Articles are not reviewed by experts in the field, but by editors on staff
References Cited	Usually includes a bibliography and/or footnotes	Usually has no bibliography or footnotes
Examples	Ecology Social Science Quarterly American Political Science Review	Time Newsweek Sports Illustrated Scientific American

Scholarly Articles

See the links below for scholarly articles on health topics for your final paper.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary database of more than 8,500 fulltext periodicals with pdf content going back as far as 1887. Includes indexing and abstracting for more than 12,500 periodicals.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
Index of medical literature produced by the National Library of Medicine. Free, unlimited access.

Government Websites

A WORD OF WARNING!

Anyone with a little time, some knowledge and small amount of money can publish on the Internet.
No person, persons or organization reviews the content of the Internet.
Pages are retrieved by search engines based on the page's content, not the relevancy or quality of the page.
Much information on the Web is not updated regularly.

For your final project, here is a sampling of government websites that would be appropriate for your final papers.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC is the nation’s leading science-based, data-driven, service organization that protects the public’s health.
MedlinePlus
Find information on health conditions, wellness issues, and more in easy-to-read language on MedlinePlus, the up-to-date, trusted health information site from the NIH and the National Library of Medicine.
Nutrition.gov
Nutrition.gov is a USDA-sponsored website that offers credible information to help you make healthful eating choices. It serves as a gateway to reliable information on nutrition, healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety for consumers.