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Katie Alvarez
English 1102
10/25/16

Source Comparison Final Essay

It is not uncommon for people nowadays to read something online, in a book, or a
magazine and automatically take those words for the truth. One usually doesnt question every
single blip of material that is taken in. It is very easy to learn a piece of information and
automatically jump to the conclusion that what was just absorbed is credible, trustworthy
knowledge. However, therein lays a problem. How is one supposed to differentiate between
genuinely credible, dependable material from something riddled with false advertisement? There
are several things that can be looked for when trying to find out if what one is reading is from a
reliable source. It is extremely important to be able to distinguish between a scholarly, credible
article from one that could very well contain dishonest information. After careful consideration
and analysis of two articles, one non-scholarly and one scholarly, it is clear that the scholarly,
peer-reviewed article is the more credible source of information.
One of the most important things to look for when in search of genuinely credible
information is to take a look at the author or the person who is delivering the information. One
must be sure that the person who is speaking on behalf of a particular topic is qualified to be
addressing the issue at hand. This is known as having ethos, or valid credibility. The scholarly
article that is going to be addressed is called How Does Music Training Predict Cognitive
Abilities? A Bifactor Approach to Musical Expertise and Intelligence found in a database entitled
PsycARTICLES. This article discusses the possibility that music training could predict cognitive
abilities. It explores the idea that music education could also correlate with higher intellectual
abilities. It also discusses the controversial debate that talks about if music education increases
general overall intelligence or if music training predicts ones overall intelligence. This particular

article has five different authors, the first one being Paul J. Silvia. Silvia has a PhD in
psychology and is a part of the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro in North Carolina. He has taught many classes involving research, psychology, and
sociology. He has taught courses such as Advanced Research Methods, Cognition and Emotion,
Social Psychology, and Psychology of Arts, Creativity, and Genius. This scholarly article deals
with how music can predict cognitive abilities and is highly research oriented, and deals with the
science of the mind. Since Silvia has taught several classes involving psychology, research, and
psychology dealing specifically with the arts, it seems clear that he is credible to speak on behalf
of the topic. The next author is Karen S. Thomas. Thomas is currently employed at the School of
Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and she has a PhD
in music education. She earned her M.M in Music Education in 2005 and a B.A. in Music, both
from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2008, she received national board
certification in Early and Middle Childhood Music. As Thomas has this much expertise in the
area of music and this article has many musical facets to it, it would seem fit that she would have
the necessary credibility for this article. The next contributor is Emily C. Nusbaum. Nusbaum
was a part of the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro,
and is now at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence at Yale University. She also has her
PhD. She would be an author with compelling ethos as this article deals heavily with cognition
and how the brain works, and Nusbaum has a PhD in psychology.
Up next is Roger E. Beaty. Beaty served in the Department of Psychology at the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is now at Harvard University. He has his PhD
and studies Biological Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Differential Psychology. It is
important to note that this article deals heavily with predicting cognitive abilities and Beaty has

studied Cognitive Psychology. Once again, this author has an extensive background in
psychology and therefore provides valid ethos for this article. The final author of this scholarly
article is Donald A. Hodges. He is at the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a professor of music education and director of the Music
Research Institute at the college as well. He has also written more than 140 chapters, papers, and
multimedia programs in music education and music psychology. He also served on the editorial
committee of the Journal of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Reviews of
Research in Human Learning and Music, and Applications of Research in Music Education. He
is a very credible author to have as he has a big background in both music and music psychology.
He has also served on an editorial committee so he must have a particular attention to detail.
The non-scholarly article that was analyzed is entitled, EU Copyright Reform Advances
News Controls, and it is from the Wall Street Journal. The author of this article is Hannah Karp.
She has worked the Wall Street Journal from May of 2004 until present day. She has a B.A. in
economics from Duke University and a MSJ Journalism Degree from Northwestern University.
This article discusses the new Copyright Reforms that the European Union wishes to implement
over music that is uploaded and shared online. Something to notice is that a lot of the authors
who write the scholarly article have PhDs, and are therefore experts in their field. Regardless of
the fact that Karp has a degree in journalism from Northwestern, journalism is not limited to one
specific topic, there isnt the same level of expertise applied, therefore less ethos.
As stated earlier, this non-scholarly article is speaking about the new copyright reforms
the European Union wished to implement on music streaming websites so that artists can be paid
for their work. As far of the depth of this article goes, it gives a lot of surface level information,

and the length of the article is only a small handful of paragraphs. This article goes into great
detail about how music training has the potential to predict cognitive abilities. The scholarly
articles length is longer than that of the non-scholarly article and its content goes far more in
depth in the total explanation of the topic. A major difference between these two articles is the
citations. The non-scholarly article delivers an adequate amount of information, but unlike its
scholarly counterpart, the author does not cite where they are getting their information. For
example, Karp states that The music industry-which has barely grown in recent years after
shedding 60% of its value since 2000-has been lobbying for similar reforms in the U.S. (Karp).
How can one know if this is factual information if there is no source to check statistics such as
these? That leads the author to be less credible, as one has no way of knowing if what Karp
warrants any trust. However, the authors in the scholarly article include citations in the text so
one can know where the information is coming from and if it is reliable. The authors exclaim that
Schellenberg (2006) has argued that music training causes increases in intelligence, and that this
effect is primarily general: Music training, he proposed, increases general intelligence (g) much
more so than in lower-level abilities (Schellenberg). In the scholarly article, the authors give
you a piece of information accompanied by the citation of where that information is coming from
so that one could fact check if necessary. It also reassures ones audience that the author has
indeed done thorough research on the matter. This article also has a detailed bibliography at the
end of all sources used to obtain the information portrayed in the article, unlike the article from
the Wall Street Journal.
Another thing to take into account is who has published the article. The publisher of the
non-scholarly article is the Wall Street Journal. It consists of online and print coverage of news
and current headlines from the United States and around the world. The scholarly article from the

database PsycARTICLES was published by the American Psychological Association. This is the
largest professional and scientific organization of psychologists in the United States, all of which
have their doctorates. It also includes scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students.
The American Psychological Association is very well known and respected group of medical
professionals, which involves a lot of research based instruction and close attention to detail. The
Wall Street Journal, though a very well-known publisher, is less credible as there is a lot more
commentary and opinion based reporting rather than research-based, academic writing. Another
thing to consider when comparing the credibility of publishers is their editing process. The
American Psychological Association publishes many articles which are peer-reviewed, as in their
information is fact checked by other authors who have a background in the issue being discussed.
While the articles in The Wall Street Journal are looked over by an editor, that editor does not
have the same specificity when it comes to background information on the topic they are editing
as the authors who peer-review for the American Psychological Association. Therefore, The Wall
Street Journal has less credibility when editing content, resulting in an article with low ethos.
There are a few main components to consider when deciding if information is coming
from a credible source. One must consider the author, and if that person and or persons has the
authority or background qualified to speak on behalf of that topic. Lack of citations and or a
bibliography is going to make ones information less trustworthy as there isnt a way of knowing
where that material is coming from, and if that material is credible as well. One must also make
sure the publisher has valid ethos by examining what kind of information they publish and who
they get their information from. The scholarly article is far more credible in all aspects than the
non-scholarly article as it backs up its information with a bibliography and valid citations, the

authors who wrote it are experts in the fields it discusses and go into topics in depth, and it is
published from a well-known, respected publisher.

Works Cited
Karp, Hannah. "EU Copyright Proposals Expected to Help Music Industry Fight Piracy." WSJ.
Wsj.com, 13 Sept. 2016. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
Silvia, Paul J., Karen S. Thomas, Emily C. Nusbaum, Roger E. Beaty, and Donald A. Hodges.
"How Does Music Training Predict Cognitive Abilities? A Bifactor Approach to Musical
Expertise and Intelligence." PsyARTICLES. American Psychological Association, 15 Feb. 2016.
Web. 27 Oct. 2016.