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CES 101

Welcome!

This library guide has been designed for students enrolled in Abigail Romero and Dr. David Leonard's CES 101 sections. This guide will walk you through how to locate resources for the Resource Citation Assignment, including:

  • Locating an article from a scholarly journal 
  • Locating a scholarly/academic book
  • Locating a film source
  • Resources for MLA, APA and Chicago Style citations

Click on the tabs to the left to navigate to the various sections of this guide.

Scholarly or Popular Journals - What's the Difference?

A scholarly journal article is subjected to a very different publication process in comparison to an article published in a popular journal, such as Newsweek, or Popular Science. If you look at a paper copy of a scholarly journal, there are a few things that you will notice:

  • The author has heavily cited their sources; you will find a list of "references," "works cited," or a "bibliography" following the article.
  • The scholarly article may begin with an abstract, or summary
  • There may be information about the author's affiliations or credentials at the beginning of the article, or in a footnote or endnote
  • There may be information on the publishing timeline, including a "date received," "date revised," and "date accepted for publication."
  • The article may be written by one or more collaborating researchers 
  • May provide a literature review  (a summary of research in the area that has already been conducted) early in the article text
  • There are few, if any, photos or images other than tables and graphs depicting research results
  • The article employs language, or jargon, specific to the discipline
  • The article is generally only available for purchase via subscription, although you may have access through the WSU Libraries
  • Contains in-depth research and substantive information
  • Has the potential to create discourse among researchers, fostering communication and enriching the scholarly community

After being received by a journal editor, a scholarly article is submitted to researchers with some expertise in the field.  The researchers, referred to as "peer reviewers," will read the article and provide feedback to the editor regarding the merits of the article. The peer reviewers may recommend that additional research be conducted, or for the article to be revised. The peer reviewers may point out areas of error, and in some cases, may even suggest that the article not be published at all. Generally, the author will have the opportunity to revise the paper, correcting any ambiguous or misleading information. The peer review process is expected to improve the quality of the article and is really an opportunity for the author to receive feedback and suggestions from other researchers.


A popular journal article is not peer-reviewed. Generally, the article will be subjected to the editor's judgment, but will not be submitted to outside reviewers. Popular articles have the following attributes:

  • Sometimes accompanied by glossy photos or advertising
  • Have little or no references at the end of the article
  • Often offer a good overview of a topic, but do not provide in-depth research
  • May be purchased at a newsstand or bookstore
  • May provide the most current information on a given topic
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