Sources and Information Needs
Working with BEAM
Use this BEAM Reference Chart to help you quickly determine how you might find or use a source.
| Kind of Source | Background | Exhibits (or Evidence) | Argument | Methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | Undisputed information | Object of analysis | Context of analysis | Underlying assumptions |
| Where to Find | Biographies, almanacs, encyclopedias, data repositories, or other reference sources | Any variety of scholarly or popular sources. Or the result of data collection or other novel production of information | Scholarly journals or books | Scholarly journals or books |
| Literature Research Question: How are we to regard Jane’s marriage to Rochester? |
Encyclopedia article on Evangelism
Biography of the Brontës |
The text of the novel Jane Eyre Contemporary cultural documents and reviews |
Scholarly books or articles that have addressed this issue | Specific references to critical theories or methods such as feminism, post-‐colonialism, etc. |
| Social Sciences Research Question: How does gender socialization impact college-‐age drinking behaviors and attitudes? |
Current statistics on college-‐level drinking
Current relevant cultural artifacts (ads, movies, etc.) |
Field observations of gender differences in drinking at a party
Audiotapes of focus group interviews (researchers must design the questions and code the transcripts) |
Scholarly articles and papers that address gender socialization as potentially related to college-age drinking | Citations to competing sociological theorists or theories about gender socialization
Citations of particular research methodologies |
| Business Research Question: Is consumer choice influenced by ads when favorable info is delayed? |
Current beliefs and intuitions about the presentation of information and how consumers make decision | Electronic data collected from online tasks | Electronic data collected from online tasks | References to data analysis methods
Citation of web design methods for online tasks |
| Health Sciences Research Question: What strategies are useful for control and screening for a diabetic complication that causes blindness in Eastern Mediterranean regions? |
Standards for screening for a diabetic complication that causes blindness
Current statistics regarding diabetes and blindness in Eastern Mediterranean countries |
Projections of future diabetic complications in the region
Potential strategies to be utilized by public health organizations in regard to the problem |
Benefits and costs of a screening program | Implicit public health mission to reduce or prevent blindness in diabetes patients |
Self-Check
Re-read your research paper. If you’ve already gotten feedback from your professor on this paper, also look to see whether any of that feedback applies to the roles you gave your sources. Then consider the questions below. If you can’t answer “Yes” to every question, reconsider how you have used the sources in your paper.
Do My Sources Have the Right Roles?
- Have I used background information to introduce a setting, situation, or problem in the paper or essay?
- Did I avoid using journal articles that report original research for my background information?
- Did I interpret and analyze sources as though they are exhibits or evidence in my argument?
- Did I discuss and cite what others have written about my research question?
- Did I include writers who both agree and disagree with what I say is my answer to the research question?
- Did I avoid using tertiary sources to support my thesis?
- Did I make it clear where key terms, concepts, and manner of working that I used in my research were used first by others?
- Were my sources for useful key terms, concepts, and manner of working secondary sources?
- Did I cite all my sources correctly?
