GEN 103 week 3 DQ 1

  

 Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

 

     

Scholarly   Versus Popular Sources

  

This discussion will introduce you   to the Ashford University (AU) Library and to give you some practice   developing your research skills. You will find that what makes the AU Library   unique, compared to other academic libraries, is that it is purely online and   can be accessed at any time of the day or night. 

You will   be using the AU Library to search for a scholarly article and compare that   article to a popular article. If you’re having a discussion with your friends   and family, an article in Time or on the CNN website will work well enough as   a reference.  However, for your course work at Ashford, you will need to   use scholarly sources (academic journals or books) to ensure factual   accuracy.

The main   point of this discussion is to notice the differences in the ways that   scholarly articles and popular articles present information and to understand   when each type of article is most appropriate. 

 

Prepare: 

Step 1:   Digital Libraries
  After reading Module 2 of your course text, spend a few minutes watching the   following videos in order. Each video builds off the other and gradually   increases your understanding of how a digital library is organized and   functions.

• GEN103 A Digital        Library
• Introduction to        the Ashford University Library

Step 2:   Popular and Scholarly Sources
  Now, watch the GEN103 Scholarly &   Popular Resources   video. After watching this video, you know the importance of carefully   considering information and sources.  Conduct an interesting comparison   between the information found in a popular source and a scholarly source.    

• Select a topic that you are        particularly interested in.  Examples would be “the benefits of red        wine,” “how genes influence disease,” “school lunches contribute to        obesity,” “legalizing drugs will lead to lower crime,” etc.
• Using the Internet, find an        article on the topic you have chosen and carefully read it, taking time        to notice the images included with article, how much detailed        information is provided, what kind of evidence the author used, how the        article is arranged and similar characteristics. 

Step 3:   Find a Scholarly Source from the Ashford University Library
  Next, you will find a scholarly source related to the same topic in   the Ashford University Library. 

• Watch the Findit@AU tutorial and take note of        the strategies from the GEN103 Ashford        University Library: Keywords are Critical tutorial to help you find a        scholarly source related to your chosen topic from the Ashford        University Library. 
• Using the FindIt@AU        search box on the library home page, locate a scholarly research article        on the same topic as the website that you found.  Make sure you put        a check in the box for scholarly/peer reviewed before clicking search        when using the databases.  Scholarly articles are often more        challenging to read than popular articles.  Take a few minutes to        watch the Strategic Ways to        Read Scholarly Articles video (written        transcript) and        then examine and read the scholarly article, noticing how it is        different from the popular article that you found online.  

 

Reflect: Think about the differences   between the popular source and the scholarly source that you found.    Specifically consider the ways that the information was presented.

 

Write: Engage in this discussion by   answering the questions below: 

• Summarize the topic you chose        to research.  Did you find that both article provided the same        information on the topic?  
• What specific similarities        and differences did you notice in the ways that the popular source you        found on the Internet and the scholarly source you found in the Ashford        University Library presented information?   
• Based on what you learned        this week, when is a scholarly source more appropriate to use? When is a        popular source, such as a news article, more appropriate?
• What insights did you gain        about the use of scholarly sources in an academic environment?

Be sure to   include the correctly formatted APA references for both articles—the   scholarly article from the Ashford University Library and the popular article   that you found online--at the end of your discussion.
  Your initial post should contain a minimum of 350 wordswritten in complete   sentences. It must answer all aspects of the prompt (refer to “Think about it   this way” below).  It must be posted by 11:59 Thursday evening.    Correctly cite the source of any information that you use in your posts.   

 

Guided Response: 

You must   reply to at least two classmate. As you reply to your classmates, attempt to   take the conversation further by examining their claims or arguments in more   depth or responding to the posts that they make to you. Post your two peer   responses during the week to maximize the opportunity for vigorous discussion.

Think   about it this way...
  This discussion is asking you to do seven things.

• View the videos on the        Ashford University Library and Scholarly and Popular Resources.
• Select a topic of interest to        research.
• Locate a popular article on        the Internet that discusses the topic you have chosen and read the        information.
• View the videos in Step 3 and        locate a scholarly article about your topic in the Ashford University        Library and read some of the content.
• Answer the four questions        listed under the “Write” section as your initial Discussion post.
• Respond to at least two of        your classsmates’ discussion posts.
• Include the correct APA        reference for both the popular and scholarly articles that you found for        this discussion and be sure to correctly cite any sources that you use        in your posts.