Understand your Information Types

Information is created for different audiences and purposes. 

• News sources report on what's happening in our world. Reporters talk with people who are impacted by an issue, politicians and policy- makers, and experts who research the issues. The news is created for the general public to keep us informed on important issues.
• Scholarship presents original research or sustained analysis of existing research on an issue or question. Scholarship is created to deepen our knowledge and to inform our practices. It is a conversation between scholars - and also, policy makers and experts in different fields.

Both substantive, credible journalism AND scholarship can play a role in your academic work. 

• News may be useful for the most current information, for local perspectives, for opinion and advocacy (if it's an opinion piece), and for presenting a range of perspectives on the subject.
• Scholarship may be useful for deeper analysis of why or what is happening, and perhaps, what should be done about it. 

Look over the two examples below. Each discusses racial profiling in policing. The first is an opinion piece that advocates for reform, while the second re-examines justifications of racial profiling as an effective tool for policing, and looks at the biased assumptions underlying the practice. The full text of each is in the next box.

Popular

Scholarly