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Scholarly Research

🎯 Objectives


In this learning module, you will explore strategies and resources that will help you conduct scholarly research.

Scholarly Research

Once you have conducted background research and have an idea of what your research topic is, you can start focusing on scholarly research. Scholarly research is your opportunity to dive into the nitty-gritty details of your topic. Remember this part of research is still considered learning. Enjoy the learning process. In doing this type of research, you will be searching for scholarly sources such as books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and valid data sets.

One of the best ways to find scholarly sources that relate to your topic is by using scholarly databases. Databases can help you search in a more focused environment. It’s like walking into a shoe store instead of walking into a mall. You’ll find some new kicks quicker. 👟

Below, you can learn about specific databases and other resources that you can use to find scholarly sources. Read through at least two of the options. Make sure that one of the options is Academic Search Ultimate because you will be using that database to complete the final activity.

Academic Search Ultimate

Click through the following three slides to learn how to use Academic Search Ultimate.

Download a transcript version of the slides here.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a great resource for research. One of the first things you should do when using it is connect it to the BYU Library. That way, you’ll have access to more articles without having to pay a dime. Click through the following walkthrough to learn how to get BYU Library access on Google Scholar.

Download a transcript version of the walkthrough here.

Statista

Statista is great for finding understandable statistics in over 80,000 topic areas. You can download graphs and charts directly from Statista to include in your research papers. Some statistics are included in reports that you can download as PDFs in order to gather the information you need.

A young woman working on her computer while sitting at a table.

BYU Library Website

Click through the following three slides to learn how to access Subject Research Guides on the BYU Library Website.

Download a transcript version of the slides here.

âť—Note: There is not a hard-fast rule that each of these resources can only be used for either background or scholarly research. You may find that some of the resources listed can be used for both.