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Early Childhood Education

Activity 1: Popular vs. Scholarly Sources

Scan the following sources for three minutes each:

  1. Landmark study finds link between playing video games and well-being

  2. Video game play is positively correlated with well-being

  3. Video game–related health problems

What can we tell about each of these sources?

Target Audience: For whom does it seem this source was written? Who is likely to engage with and learn from this type of information?

Author: Is there an author listed? Can you find their academic or professional credentials?

Citations or Links: Are formal citations or links to external information included in the source? Do the authors support their work with relevant references?

Publication Date: Is there a publication date listed? Is the information current enough for the topic?

Source Type: What type of source is this (news, academic journal article, blog entry, encyclopedia, etc.)? Would you consider using this as an academic source to satisfy the requirements of an assignment?

Purpose: Why was this source written? To provide general information? To share original research or analysis? To entertain? To sell or promote a product? Consider its purpose and potential biases.

Identifying Scholarly Sources

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