writing a thesis

1. How To Write a Thesis
© Chad Raymond
Reviewing the Literature
Guidelines for Scholarly Sources
Use the following guidelines to help you determine whether a particular work is scholarly.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries
The origin of information contained in encyclopedias and dictionaries is unverifiable; therefore, they
are not scholarly sources
Internet websites:
The vast majority of websites possessing .com, .org, .net, and even .edu domain names contain
information that is completely unreliable and unverifiable; therefore, they are not scholarly sources. A
few examples of websites that are not scholarly sources: wikipedia.org, infoplease.com, cnn.com.
Websites with a .gov domain name contain official government documents which can be considered
as primary source material when used in a scholarly context and are therefore permissible sources.
Information provided by certain multinational governmental organizations with .org domain names,
such as unhcr.org (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) can also be considered primary
source material.
Books:
Not all books are scholarly sources. Scholarly books:
 are generally published by university presses (e.g., MIT Press, Cambridge University Press, etc.).
 have biographical sketches of the authors that indicate the advanced degrees of the author,
employment at the time the book was published, and other information that establishes the author
as an “expert” in the field.
Non-scholarly books are written by individuals with no formal academic training in the book’s
subject, lack references (no footnotes, endnotes, and/or bibliography), and/or contain more photos
than text. Examples of non-scholarly books include TimeLife Books, Facts on File, memoirs,
encyclopedias, and mass-market paperbacks.
Popular articles
Popular articles, whether found in newspapers, magazines, or online are not scholarly sources because
they rarely contain full citations for source material and they are written by non-experts (journalists
and other writers) for a general audience. Popular articles:
 Use language that is easily understood by the general public
 Frequently have pictures, color, and a visually appealing layout
 Tend to be shorter than peer-reviewed journal articles
Occasionally a journalistic account (i.e., newspaper story) may be considered a primary source—for
example, if it contains the text of a speech by a government official. Examples of nonscholarly
popular periodicals: The New York Times, Newsweek, and Discover.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

2. Peer-reviewed journal articles are scholarly sources that are written by and for university faculty,
researchers, and other scholars. They may be found in bound volumes or online via full-text databases
like JSTOR and Academic Search Premier (the fact that an article from a peer-reviewed journal is
available online does not make the article a website). Peer-reviewed journal articles:
 Use technical language that is sometimes difficult to understand
 Tend to be longer than popular magazine articles
 Have been scrutinized by other scholars in the field to ensure their accuracy ( “peer review”)
 Are visually unappealing because they lack photos, multicolor diagrams, etc.
 Published by a scholarly or professional institution or association (e.g., the International Security
Association or North Dakota State University)
Examples of peer-reviewed journals: International Security, Comparative Politics, World Politics,
Middle East Quarterly, and American Historical Review.
These are only general guidelines for evaluating research materials. For additional assistance in
identifying scholarly sources, please consult a reference librarian.