Information Ecosystem
Other Academic Content
Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between various types of academic content—including books, conference proceedings, theses/dissertations, and preprints— by identifying the key characteristics, purposes, and appropriate uses of each.
- Evaluate when and why to use alternative academic content types based on the research need and understand their limitations, particularly in relation to peer review.
Overview
Scholarly research articles are a common type of academic source for class papers and projects—but they’re not the only option.
Depending on your topic or assignment, you might also find useful information in:
- Books written by experts
- Conference proceedings
- Theses or dissertations
- Preprints
In this chapter, you’ll learn what each of these source types is, how to recognize them, and when they might be most helpful for your work.
Note: While these sources can be high-quality and valuable, they’re not peer-reviewed. If your instructor requires peer-reviewed sources, you’ll need to supplement these with peer-reviewed materials.
Other types of academic content might be useful to you if…
- You need cutting edge information or research
Other types of academic content might be less useful if…
- You need research that has been peer reviewed by experts in a field
Common Types of Academic Content
| Type | Purpose | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Books | Offer in-depth information on a specific topic | Can help identify leading voices and topics in different fields
Books can also be used as sources in research projects Sources cited in books can be reviewed and used in research projects |
| Conference Proceedings | Give scholars and academics the chance to present new research and to present other recent news and happenings in different fields | Can give a glimpse of cutting-edge research and ideas
Can provide ideas for what direction to take research projects in |
| Theses/Dissertations | Normally completed to obtain a master’s or doctorate degree
Can be useful for finding sources and (assuming the thesis or dissertation is recent) up-to-date information on a topic and/or research |
Sources cited in theses/dissertations can be reviewed and used in research projects
Can also provide ideas and inspiration for what direction to take a research project in |
| Preprints | Give researchers the opportunity to make their research available in their fields of study immediately without having to wait for the research to go through the peer-review process | Can be used to gauge what direction research in a particular field might go in |
Books
Books can be a very broad category, but in this section, we are going to focus on books that contain academic content that are normally published by researchers and/or academics.
Books can be great sources to use for projects. They can be especially helpful for providing deep yet broad coverage of many different aspects of a topic. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that books are not normally peer-reviewed, even if the book contains information that might have been previously peer-reviewed or will be peer-reviewed in the future.
Quick Tip: Finding Books in Search@UW
When searching in Search@UW, you can limit your results to only books. To learn how, see the “Search@UW as a Tool” chapter.
For a more in-depth discussion for academic books, see the “Books” chapter.
Conference Proceedings
Conference proceedings are published records of conferences or other types of gatherings where research or other information is presented. Conference proceedings can provide access to recent research.
While content that is presented at a conference might have undergone some type of review process, it’s important to keep in mind that the information being presented has not been peer reviewed. As such, it is important to carefully assess the quality of information obtained from conference proceedings.
Quick Tip: Finding Conference Proceedings in Search@UW
You can limit your Search@UW results to only conference proceedings. To learn how to do this, see the “Search@UW as a Tool” chapter.
Theses/Dissertations
Theses and dissertations are substantial research projects completed as part of a master’s or doctoral degree. Some include original research conducted by the author, while others focus on reviewing and analyzing existing studies.
These documents can be valuable for your research because they often contain:
- Recent research that may not be published anywhere else
- Extensive bibliographies you can mine for additional sources
While theses and dissertations are reviewed by a faculty committee, they’re not considered peer-reviewed. That means it’s still important to evaluate the quality and credibility of the work.
Quick Tip: Finding Theses and Dissertations
You can use library resources to search for theses and dissertations in a specific field and theses and dissertations that have been completed at UW-Green Bay. For example, general theses and dissertations and some theses and dissertations that were completed at UW-Green Bay are available through Search@UW. When searching, try clicking the “Dissertations” box in the “Resource Type” column.
Additionally, theses and dissertations from UW-Green Bay completed between 1970 and 2022 should be available through UW-Green Bay Theses and Dissertations.
Preprints
Preprints are research articles shared publicly before they’re formally published. Because the peer-review process can take months (or longer), preprints let researchers make their findings available right away. They’re often posted when the information is timely or when a researcher wants to document that they were first to make a discovery.
Preprints can be made available on platforms such as Cornell University’s arXiv. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that preprints have not been peer reviewed. In many cases, the only person who has reviewed the information being provided is the author or researcher. They’re easy to spot—most will have a label or watermark noting they’re a preprint, along with the date they were posted. For example, PDFs from arXiv include a label along the left side of the first page with the posting date.
Reflection
- Have you used any of the types of academic content listed in this section for a research project before? Why or why not?
- Why do you think that so many people want you to use peer-reviewed sources when these other types of sources exist?
