InfoSkills for Social and Behavioral Sciences

Scholarly communication

Researchers communicate their theories and research findings to the academic community in many ways, such as informal conversations with colleagues, presenting at conferences, posting on social media, and writing academic blog posts.

However, the main way researchers share their work is through journal articles (often called "papers"), as well as through books and book chapters. Among these, journal articles are especially central to academic writing.

That said, the importance of articles compared to books varies between academic fields. For example, books tend to have greater importance in the humanities – such as literature, philosophy, history, and theology – than in other fields.

Characteristics of scholarly sources

Throughout your studies, you’ll often need to find and use scholarly sources for your writing assignments. Knowing how to identify them is essential for producing strong, high-quality work. When you search, look for these key features:

• Author(s)
  Scholarly sources are written by experts in the subject. They include the authors’ names along with their qualifications, degrees, and the universities or research institutions they're affiliated with.
• Language
  Specialized terminology specific to the field is used, and the writing style is formal and precise. Because of this, scholarly sources can be tough to fully understand if you’re not familiar with the subject.

• Citation
  Citation is the practice of acknowledging the original sources of information, ideas, or evidence that an author uses to support their arguments.

  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.