Use this BEAM Reference Chart to help you quickly determine how you might find or use a source.
| Kind of Source: | Background | Exhibits (or Evidence) | Argument | Methods |
| Definition: | Undisputed information | Object of analysis | Context of analysis | Underlying assumptions |
| Where to Find | Biographies, almanacs, encyclopedias, data repositories, or other reference sources | Any variety of scholarly or popular sources. Or the result of data collection or other novel production of information | Scholarly journals or books | Scholarly journals or books |
| Literature
Research Question: How are we to regard Jane’s marriage to Rochester? |
Encyclopedia article on Evangelism
Biography of the Brontës |
The text of Jane Eyre
Contemporary cultural documents and reviews |
Scholarly books or articles that have addressed this issue | Specific references to critical theories or methods -‐ feminism, post-‐colonialism, etc. |
| Social Sciences
Research Question: How does gender socialization impact college-‐age drinking behaviors and attitudes? |
Current statistics on college-‐level drinking
Current relevant cultural artifacts (ads, movies, etc.) |
Field observations of gender differences in drinking at a party
Audiotapes of focus group interviews (researchers must design the questions and code the transcripts) |
Scholarly articles and papers that address gender socialization as potentially related college-age drinking | Citations to competing sociological theorists or theories about gender socialization
Citations of particular research methodologies |
| Business
Research Question: Is consumer choice influenced by ads when favorable info is delayed? |
Current beliefs and intuitions about the presentation of information and how consumers make decision | Electronic data collected from online tasks | Scholarly articles that debate the relative impact of information according to timing | References to data analysis methods
Citation of web design methods for online tasks |
| Health Sciences
Research Question: What strategies are useful for control and screening for a diabetic complication that causes blindness in Eastern Mediterranean regions? |
Standards for screening for a diabetic complication that causes blindness
Current statistics regarding diabetes and blindness in Eastern Mediterranean countries |
Projections of future diabetic complications in the region
Potential strategies to be utilized by public health organizations in regard to the problem |
Benefits and costs of a screening program | Implicit public health mission to reduce or prevent blindness in diabetes patients |