InfoSkills for Social and Behavioral Sciences

Scholarly communication

Academics share their theories and research findings with the academic community in various ways. These include informal conversations with colleagues, conference presentations, social media posts, and academic blog posts.

The primary way researchers share their work is through journal articles (often referred to as “papers”), as well as books and book chapters. Among these, journal articles are especially central to academic writing.

However, the value placed on articles versus books varies across disciplines. For instance, in the humanities (literature, philosophy, history, and theology) books tend to play a more prominent role in scholarly communication than they do in other fields.

Characteristics of scholarly sources

Throughout your studies, you’ll frequently need to locate scholarly publications for your writing assignments. Being able to identify scholarly sources is essential for producing high-quality work. When searching for these materials, keep an eye out for the following key features:

• Author(s)
  Scholarly sources are written by academics who are experts in the subject area. They include the authors’ names, along with their credentials, degrees, and affiliations, typically with universities or research institutions.
• Language
  They use specialized terminology specific to their field and are written in a formal, precise style. Consequently, they can be challenging for readers who are not experts in the field to fully comprehend.

• Citations
  Citations are a key feature of scholarly sources, providing credit to the original works used to support an author’s argument. Watch this 2:00-minute video to learn more about the purposes of source citation in science.

  Preferred citation styles at Tilburg University
  The most commonly used citation style at TiU is APA, developed by the American Psychological Association (APA). The university library has created APA manuals in Dutch and English for our students.

  Students in the School of Humanities and Digital Sciences may be required to use the Chicago NB citation style, which is also followed by the Tilburg School of Theology. Law students enrolled in Rechtswetenschappen are expected to use the "Leidraad voor juridische auteurs," which is available through the library catalog.