Considering Delivery (Prompt #4)

The differences between articles online and scholarly articles can be quite great. Generally, scholarly articles are much longer and more difficult to read. Articles online/blog posts are usually someone’s opinions or usually just focusing on what the author thinks is relevant. I read two articles, one found just online and another found of ProQuest. I googled “refugees and mental health” and found the article, “Depression, mental illness endemic amongst Syrian refugees” on the website DW. DW is Germany’s international broadcaster. The article I found on ProQuest was called “Syrian refugees’ mental health is top priority” which was written by Michael Colborne from the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

While both articles are clearly on the same topic, the focus of the two articles are very different. The scholarly article is more specific about what it is talking about. The article is coming directly from the person researching and is about Syrian refugees coming to Canada. The online article is much more general and pulls from many different sources. The online journal is to inform the average joe about the situation and importance of the situation (mental illness among refugees). Whereas the scholarly article is focused on a specific occasion. I think we tend to lean towards online articles/blogs because they are of easier access to us. Scholarly journals are usually a better resource for valid information, but it takes a lot of time and energy to focus on what the article is about. Plus, sometimes the only way you can truly understand the article is if you have a good, working knowledge on the matter. When it comes to online articles, they are never using specific words or definitions because they know their audience won’t understand. The scholarly article is a really good source for a research paper or for other people in the field, but most people are just clicking on the first link that pops up.

J.M.

Colborne, Michael. "Syrian Refugees' Mental Health is Top Priority." Canadian Medical Association.Journal 187.18 (2015): 1347. ProQuest. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Jay, Martin. "Depression, Mental Illness Endemic amongst Syrian Refugees | Middle East | DW.COM | 27.02.2016." DW.COM. N.p., 27 Feb. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.