Use this BEAM Reference Chart to help you quickly determine how you might find or use a source.

BEAM Reference Chart
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

 

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Critical Thinking in Academic Research Copyright © 2022 by Cindy Gruwell and Robin Ewing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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