Standing on the shoulders of giants

            A resource is considered "scholarly" in nature when it has been peered reviewed by scholars and/or published in a recognized scholarly source.  A scholar is someone “who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it: an intelligent and well-educated person who knows a particular subject very well (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).  When one critically thinks, he or she must assess the source(s) of information they may use.  Some questions one may ask are what is the source’s purpose/point-of-view/relevance/etc. (Nosich, 2012)?  Not all information is equal.  I did not recognize this enough early in my undergraduate studies and as a result, some of my research was flawed.  I would rely on information that met my expectations of the “truth”.  Although internet sites e.g. Google can provide an immeasurable amount of data, it is a place where anyone can post anything, fact or not.  For example, information found on a blog (such as this one) is subjective to the author’s own knowledge, beliefs, biases, etc.  There is not a rigor or standard he or she is measured against.  However, that does not mean that the information is false or inaccurate – simply, the information has not been validated e.g. scholarly reviewed.  Therefore, when using Google or any other internet source for information, I must use my skills in evaluating sources.  The typical information on leadership concept found on Google’s first page consisted of some scholarly works but were mostly short articles.  In contrast, the Hunt Library’s first page listed all books.  So, as a student who conducts academic research, I will use the ERAU Hunt Library as a reliable base to access scholarly sources such as journal, articles, and books.  Moreover, I have access to Hunt librarians who can guide and assist me in finding specialized sources applicable to my research.  When I use the Hunt library, a favorite quote comes to mind – Sir Isaac Newton, in a 1676 letter to Robert Hooke wrote, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants (Parry, 1997).”

References

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.merriam-webster.com: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scholar

Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Parry, M. (1997). Chambers Biographical Dictionary (Larousse Biographical Dictionary). London, U.K.: Hodder & Stoughton.