Answered Questions

Hello,

Well... sorta but not really. Here's the problem.For the most part, scholarly web sites don't exist. What the assignment is really looking for (according to the person who wrote it) is a reliable web site. A reliable source may not be scholarly, but it will be useful for many purposes, particularly in the business curriculum.

Scholarly sources are (as you know from our video at http://www.screencast.com/t/9F6j6Qv89e !) are evaluated based on the credentials of the author, the intended audience, the level of vocabulary used, the amount of background knowledge needed to understand the content, and the presence of references. Therefore a scholarly web site would be written by PhDs, Masters, or other researchers for PhDs, Masters, or other researchers, using a college level vocabulary. It would require an advanced understanding of the subject to comprehend the information, and it would include references.

We hardly ever find these characteristics in a web site, so we look to web sites to be reliable and credible, but not scholarly. Scholarly content is found in print and online journal articles and books.

Analyzing the web site http://employeeengagement.com/ , we see that its purpose is to sell the services of a consulting company. The credentials of the creator of the site, the intended audience, and the use of references don't qualify it as scholarly.

But web sites that are not scholarly sometimes attach scholarly documents to the site. In this case, the web site designed to promote the consulting firm has attached a Gallup study. While not technically scholarly, a Gallup study is highly reliable and an excellent source for undergraduate business research.

I suggest you ask your professor for a clarification and permission to use the Gallup study as your source. It's an excellent choice.

If you need to, feel free to have your professor contact me.