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Search for evidence and decide which article or book to cite is not an easy task, especially you are developing as a scholar. You need to become familiar with scholarly sources. Scholarly sources for EAP include: monograph（学术专著）which is a detailed and systematic documented treatise on a particular subject; journal article（期刊论文）which is the most popular publication for original and noval research, including introduction, methods and results; dissertation（学位论文）which is a long and detailed piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one written for a university degree. Other sources include magazines, newspapers,etc. Some of their differences are shown below:
Who write this: researchers / scholars
Who read this: scholars / students
Quality control: Publish original peer-reviewed (revised according to comments from experts in the field before publication), long in-depth research article in a specialized area.
Reference: Arguments and conclusions are supported by evidence, sources consulted are listed in reference/bibliography.
Reliability: Yes
Who write this: reporters / journalists / freelance writers
Who read this: general public
Quality control: Contents approved by editors, publishing short article with topics of general interest for general public.
Reference: May quote statistics/figures/tables from other sources, but reference list/bibliography is usually not included.
Reliability: Maybe
Who write this: reporters / journalists / general public, authors usually not known
Who read this: general public
Quality contral: Contents approved by editors, usually publish short current affairs, daily news, social issues.
Reference: May quote statistics/figures/tables from other sources, but reference list/bibliography is usually not included.
Reliability: Maybe
“Scholarly” or “popular”?
It is important to locate and evaluate relevant and reliable sources for your research topic. Always evaluate the credibility & relevance of sources by:
WHO wrote or published? Reputation of the website? (Authority)
WHAT evidence is given? Is the content relevant? Are there charts, figures, statistics, references list? (Accuracy)
WHEN was it published? Historical or current data or both? (Currency)