You just learned about scholarly articles. Now, let's learn about the people who write them - scholars.
A “scholar” is “a specialist in a particular branch of study”. All of your professors at CSUSM are scholars, and you are on your way to becoming student-scholars. While students take in information, student-scholars begin to create new information and contribute to the scholarly output of a university.
Let’s review the three main disciplinary groups that you will see here at CSUSM: humanities, social sciences, and sciences. It’s important to know that all of these scholars seek to understand the world around us, but they each see the world differently and ask (and answer) questions in different ways.
Humanities scholars seek to understand the world around us by examining cultural artifacts. Cultural artifacts are things that humans have created and left behind. What kinds of items might be included? iPhones, songs, tv shows and movies, books, poems, people, events, thought, religious beliefs, art, etc. They examine these things by looking at the history surrounding them, other conversation that has taken place about them, and use theories and other ideas to explain the meaning of these items. What majors might be included in this group?
Literature, Languages, Fine Arts, Philosophy, History
Social scientists seek to understand human behavior and how people interact with each other, political systems, their environment, etc. They may use the scientific method, as well as observation, interviews, surveys etc. What majors might be included in this group?
Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Political Science
Scientists seek to understand the world around us by observing and describing natural phenomena. Natural phenomena are things that exist without humans creating them. They use the scientific method to collect evidence that will prove or disprove their hypothesis. The scientific method is a very rigid and structured methodology that scientists strictly adhere to. What majors might be included in this group?
Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, Physics, Applied Mathematics
Example - how different types of scholars approach a phenomenon differently
We’ve described how these scholars may see the world differently, but let’s talk about a specific example. Imagine that three scholars (someone from the Humanities, a Social Scientist, and a Scientist) are at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Don’t know what the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is? Go to Wikipedia and spend 5 minutes reading about it and try to learn:
- What it is
- How large it is
- Where it is
The humanities scholar might be looking at the garbage patch and using it as inspiration for a musical piece that evokes sounds of environmental consumerism.
The social scientist might be looking at how they can influence individual perceptions and beliefs about protecting the oceans and marine life.
The scientist might be looking at the garbage patch and how seabirds that live in this area are impacted by the pollutants found in the patch.
Even though they are all together at the same place, they see it in different ways -- and they are all trying to understand it from their unique disciplinary perspectives and to contribute their understanding to human knowledge.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch Scholarly Research
Not surprisingly, there are actual researchers who have been asking questions and trying to learn more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Below, you will see some examples of citations and abstracts from actual scholarly articles.
What’s an abstract? An abstract is a brief summary of a scholarly article. It usually appears at the top of the article -- sometimes it is labeled and sometimes it isn’t.
First, let’s look at an article written by someone from the Humanities
Its citation is in MLA format (you might be familiar with it from your GEW classes).
Humanities
Highlighted in italics are clues to the discipline of the research being conducted. Humanities often use theory and DISCOURSE to seek to explain the world. Discourse is written or spoken communication or conversation about a topic where there is typically an exchange of ideas.
Highlighted in bold is the language that is utilized by humanities researchers. As students engage with this literature they will become more familiar with it; at 1sit is seems a little scary and overwhelming. This is perfectly NORMAL.
MLA Citation:
Ottun, Joshua. “Sounds Like Garbage: Paddling Through an Imaginary Island of Trash Toward a New Sonic Ecology.” Social Alternatives, vol. 33, no. 1, Jan. 2014, pp. 52-59. EBSCOhost,
http://ezproxy.csusm.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=96402387&site=ehost-live
In 2011, American electronic musician James Ferraro released Far Side Virtual, a 'rubbery plastic symphony for global warming, dedicated to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch' (Gibb 2011). Cobbled together with general MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) sounds, abrasive hi-def production values, and repetitive melodic gestures, Far Side Virtual beckons the listener to engage with the timbres of environmental consumption. By referencing visual, textual, and virtual aesthetics of corporate computer culture, Ferraro accentuates the ubiquitous sonic branding practices of the digital experience. As the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre circulates in an endless cycle, bits of microplastic converge and diverge in a 5000 square kilometre space. This decentralised concentration of debris does not fit the typical mould of a muse for musical composition. Yet Ferraro's attempt to encapsulate the sonic signifiers of the very gadgets and processes leading to such waste provides a refreshed space for music and environment to engage. This paper positions the elusive, shape-shifting soundscape of Far Side Virtual as a dynamic example of sonic ecology in praxis, both mirroring and sounding out the physical and aural realities of consumption and its complex after effects.
Social Sciences
Highlighted in italics are some of the context clues that help identify this article as being in the Social Sciences. Here we see attitudes and behaviors which are items that researchers can observe and measure.
Highlighted in bold is how researchers in this discipline use terminology.
APA Citation:
Wyles, K. J., Pahl, S. White, M. Morris, S. Cracknell, D. & Thompson, R. C. (2013). Towards a marine mindset: Visiting an aquarium can improve attitudes and intentions regarding marine sustainability. Visitor Studies, 16(1), 95-110. doi: 10.1080/10645578.2013.768077
The oceans are crucial for human survival, yet they are under serious threat from humans, for example through overfishing and poor waste management. We investigated two questions. First, does a leisure visit to an aquarium improve visitor attitudes and intentions towards marine sustainability, specifically regarding overfishing and pollution? Second, does an information booklet handed out in addition to the visit have additional measurable impact? Aquarium visitors (n = 104) completed a questionnaire on marine sustainability attitudes and behavioral intentions before and after their visit. Half of the visitors also were given informational materials that offered behavioral solutions to the problem of overfishing. The aquarium visit significantly improved visitors’ overall attitudes and intentions. The information booklet additionally improved intentions significantly, but not attitudes. These findings show that a visit to an aquarium can help individuals develop what we term a marine mindset, a state of readiness to address marine sustainability issues. Implications, limitations, and ideas for further research are discussed.
Sciences
Highlights in italics discuss how research in the sciences are looking at natural phenomenon; in this case they scholars are examining risk factors associated with hepatitis A infection
Highlighted in bold are langage/terms used in sciences and research in general
CSE Citation:
Chu, S, Wang, J. Woodward, LA, Letcher, RJ, Li, QX. 2015. Perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and carboxylic acids in liver, muscle and adipose tissues of black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) from Midway Island, North Pacific Ocean. Chemosphere, 138: 60-66.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a gyre of marine plastic debris in the North Pacific Ocean, and nearby is Midway Atoll which is a focal point for ecological damage. This study investigated 13 C 4 –C 16 perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs), four (C 4 , C 6 , C 8 and C 10 ) perfluorinated sulfonates and perfluoro-4-ethylcyclohexane sulfonate [collectively perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs)] in black-footed albatross tissues (collected in 2011) from Midway Atoll. Of the 18 PFCAs and PFSAs monitored, most were detectable in the liver, muscle and adipose tissues. The concentrations of PFCAs and PFSAs were higher than those in most seabirds from the arctic environment, but lower than those in most of fish-eating water birds collected in the U.S. mainland. The concentrations of the PFAAs in the albatross livers were 7-fold higher than those in Laysan albatross liver samples from the same location reported in 1994. The concentration ranges of PFOS were 22.91–70.48, 3.01–6.59 and 0.53–8.35 ng g −1 wet weight (ww), respectively, in the liver, muscle and adipose. In the liver samples PFOS was dominant, followed by longer chain PFUdA (8.04–18.70 ng g −1 ww), PFTrDA, and then PFNA, PFDA and PFDoA. Short chain PFBA, PFPeA, PFBS and PFODA were below limit of quantification. C 8 –C 13 PFCAs showed much higher composition compared to those found in other wildlife where PFOS typically predominated. The concentrations of PFUdA in all 8 individual albatross muscle samples were even higher than those of PFOS. This phenomenon may be attributable to GPGP as a pollution source as well as PFAA physicochemical properties.
As you start in your major courses, you will start to use the methodology and writing style for your discipline, give credit to the ideas of scholars that you read, and create your own knowledge, as student-scholars.