All workshops and workshop materials are the sole property of PEGS and cannot

be published, copied, or disseminated without prior written approval from PEGS and are for student and faculty use only.

By Alejandro Haezaert-Caraveo

PEGS Writing Consultant

How a student should evaluate sources and articles when conducting research (such as thesis papers) or writing research papers (such as literature reviews)

Deep topic, today will be an overview about evaluating articles in general

Why do we need research in our work?

How do you grade/evaluate an academic work or research article?

To contribute to the academic conversationResearch is used to strengthen an argument. Provides evidence for your arguments and

adds credibility to your workHelps to avoid plagiarism. Academic scholarship, at its heart, is about

the interplay of ideas.

Typically has been checked before you see it

Non-Scholarly - (aka "popular information") can be posted by anyone. It might not be fact-checked and could be correct or contain errors. ex.) Wikipedia

Scholarly information – usually has been peer-reviewed before it is published. It creates discussion and engages scholars in conversations and builds the scholarly community.

Scholarly Non-scholarly

Aims to be unbiased. Info that has gone through peer-review should

be free from political, social, commercial or personal bias

Scholarly information and by extension, scholarly websites aren't flashy

Always contains references

  Popular Professional/TradeScholarly/Peer

Reviewed/Refereed

AUDIENCE

Nonspecific; mass audience. No specific knowledge of particular

subject is required. Many of these periodicals are sold in the

grocery store.

Specific, usually professionals or practitioners of the field

covered. though most people may understand material.

Specialized, technical audience; geared toward researchers and professionals in the field with a specific knowledge of subject

WRITERS

Professional writers; usually not trained in field in which they are

writing. Writers for these publications usually make their

living as writers.

Professional writers who are trained in the field in which they

are writing. The writer's credentials may appear. Writers for these publications may make

their living as writers.

Scholars, specialists in field; not usually professional writers. The

writer's credentials appear. Writers for these publications

usually do not make their living as writers.

CONTENT

Non specialized material. Articles are short and no

references or bibliographies at end of articles

Specific material, though understandable. Generally policy

and action are the focus of articles. Sometimes a few

footnotes.

Highly specialized. Many times contains charts/graphs from original research. Frequently

contains many footnotes.  Devoted to a specific discipline of

academia. articles are "signed," typically lengthy and have

references (or bibliographies), articles are submitted to a lengthy

peer review process, have scholarly book reviews.

LANGUAGEJunior high reading level. No

specialized vocabulary. Uncomplicated writing style.

High-school reading level. Some specialized vocabulary. Fairly uncomplicated writing style.

Learned reading level. Specialized vocabulary. Complicated writing

style.

APPEARANCE/ PURPOSE

Slick; lots of photography and advertisements. Intent: to

provide consumer level knowledge & entertain.

Usually pretty slick; many advertisements; some

photography. Addresses the day-to-day problems of practitioners as distinct from the concerns of

academics.

Dull; unattractive; few to no advertisements. Articles report the results of studies and/or research

performed by author(s).

EXAMPLES

•Parents•Sports Illustrated

•Principle Leadership•Sports'N Spokes: The Magazine

for Wheelchair Sports and Recreation

•Educational Review•Journal of Sport Behavior

Special Thanks to UNC Wilmington Randall Library

"Gold Standard" for scholarly communicationArticle submission are filtered and edited by

"peers" or other experts in the fieldAlso known as "refereeing"

A way to self-monitor what research is presented

Journals that use peer review enjoy an excellent reputation and are trusted by experts in the field

Online library databases - best place, high quality, vetted informationCSUDH has access to a large amount of

databases!

Search the web - trickier, you must evaluate yourself if it is scholarly

Google Scholar - can search for journals.

Can you think of others?

Peer-review is what you should be looking for

Not all information is peer-reviewed

We will cover:Author, Publisher, Currency, Accuracy,

Objectivity, Argument, Purpose, and Tone

List is not exhaustive, there are other ways to evaluate, but this is a brief overview.

Is there an author of the work?

If so, is the author clearly identified?

Are the author's credentials for writing on this topic stated?

Is the author a well known practitioner on the field?

Is the author affiliated with an organization?

Where is the article from?

Is it from a reputable institution?

Does the site or article represent a group, organization, institution, corporation or government body?

How old is the document?

Are there any indications that the material is updated frequently or consistently to ensure currency of the content?

If there is a more recent book on the same topic, make sure that you look at it. Maybe the author found new evidence that

drastically alters the argument of the first book.

Findings can change drastically in short periods of time.

A primary source is an original object or document: the raw material or first-hand informationhistorical and legal documents, eyewitness

accounts, results of experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, and art objects

A secondary source is something written about a primary sourceincludes comments on, interpretations of, or

discussions about the original material

PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY

DEFINITIONSSources that contain raw,

original, non interpreted and unevaluated information.

Sources that digest, analyze, evaluate and interpret the

information contained within primary sources. They tend

to be argumentative.

Sources that compile, analyze, and digest

secondary sources. They tend to be factual.

TIMING OF PUBLICATION CYCLE

Primary sources tend to come first in the publication

cycle.

Secondary sources tend to come second in the publication cycle.

Tertiary sources tend to come last in the publication

cycle.

FORMATS--depends on the kind of analysis being

conducted.

Often newspapers, weekly and monthly-produced

magazines; letters, diaries.

Often scholarly periodicals and books. (Professors like

these.)Often reference books.

EXAMPLE: Historian (studying the Vietnam War)

Newspaper articles, weekly news magazines, monthly

magazines, diaries, correspondence, diplomatic

records.

Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the war, possibly

footnoting primary documents; books analyzing

the war.

Historical Dictionary of Vietnam ; The Vietnam War,

An Almanac

Example: Literary Critic (studying the literature of

the Vietnam War)

Novels, poems, plays, diaries, correspondence.

Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the literature;

books analyzing the literature; formal

biographies of writers of the war.

Writing About Vietnam; A Bibliography of the

Literature of the Vietnam Conflict; Dictionary of

Literary Biography

Example: Psychologist (studying the effects of the

Vietnam syndrome)

Article in a magazine that reports research and its

methodology; notes taken by a clinical psychologist.

Articles in scholarly publications synthesizing

results of original research; books analyzing results of

original research.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; The Encyclopedic Dictionary

of Psychology

Example: Scientist (studying Agent Orange

exposure)

Article in a magazine reporting research and

methodology.

Articles in scholarly publications synthesizing

results of original research; books doing same.

Agent Orange and Vietnam: An Annotated Bibliography

Special Thanks to UNC Wilmington Randall Library

External Validity – does this work in the real world or just a lab? External validity represents the extent to which a study's

results can be generalized or applied to other people or settings.

Internal Validity – does the research prove what is says it is proving? Internal validity refers both to how well a study was run

and how confidently one can conclude that the observed effects were produced solely by the independent variable and not extraneous ones.

 Reliability - reliability is the consistency of a set of

measurements or of a measuring instrument, often used to describe a test.

Looking for a work that is free of bias

Does the page display a particular bias or perspective? Is the information presented factually, without bias?

Is it clear and forthcoming about its view of the subject?

Is the page free of advertising?

http://www.martinlutherking.org/

Is the information supported by evidence?

Is the journal itself cited by other articles?

Does the journal cite prominent research/past work in the field?

How well does it stand to criticism?

Citation indexing - gives an idea of the general impact an article has had in its field. Check Google Scholar

Google Scholar and citation indexing

Is it clear what the author is trying to prove?

What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced?

Is the work applicable to your study?

What is the major claim or thesis of the book or article?

Is it presented in a clear, easy to read format?

Who is the intended audience?

Does the author's language seem impartial to you?

Is a lot of emotional language used?

Does the author remain focused on the argument?

Check out PEGS!Promoting Excellence in Graduate Studies

Make an appointment(310) 243-2700pegs@csudh.eduwww.pegs4grads.org

Library Reference Desk(310) 243-3586 or (310) 243-3582http://library.csudh.edu/services/reference/

desk.shtml

UNC Chapel HillUC Berkeley

Cornell UniversityUNC Wilmington

University of British ColombiaPurdue OWLExtra Credits

And of course……The Librarians at CSUDH Cain Library!