 What is the Literature? Brought to you by CSUSB's John M. Fowl Library. You may have heard the phrase the literature. In this video we'll explain what exactly the literature is and we'll explore the ways in which the literature is different from the information we encounter in our everyday lives. Finally, we'll take a look at the role the attribution plays in helping us to navigate and make sense of the literature. So what is the literature? In short, it is the body of scholarly work in any given field. We sometimes think of the literature as the conversations that scholars have with one another over time. These conversations are more formal than just having a chat over coffee, however, and are had through the publication of sources like journal articles and books. The literature is different from the information we encounter in our everyday lives in many ways. First, the scholarly sources within the literature are considered to have a greater level of authority than popular sources because they are created by experts like your professors. While some disagree that scholarly sources are necessarily better than other types of information, they remain highly valued in academia. You'll notice that unlike popular sources, the sources you find in the literature are not written for just anybody but are rather meant for others in the same field or discipline. This includes college students as well as other experts who research and write about similar topics. Scholarly sources typically use the language, sometimes referred to as the jargon, of a specific discipline. Thus, these sources are not always accessible to everyone. Finally, the sources you encounter in the literature have a specific purpose. Unlike popular sources, which can give us facts, entertain us, or try to persuade us, the literature typically includes more analysis, which is a big part of what scholars do. Often, you will find that within the literature there are more questions posed than questions answered. Now, what is the role of attribution in helping us navigate and make sense of the literature? Experts, when they properly reference the work of others, help to create a historical record of the scholarly conversations that occur in the literature. Because scholars want to be able to trace ideas back to their origins and see how these ideas have been contested, challenged, or embraced over time, this historical record allows us to do just that. When scholars reference other sources, they give credit where credit is due. Because ideas have value, attribution is the formal tool that scholars use to recognize the work of others. So what exactly does attribution look like? Well, have you ever seen in-text citations or a list of works cited or references at the end of a journal article or book? This, my friends, is what attribution looks like in the literature.