Library Guides: Education Resources: Evaluate Sources

Anatomy of a Research Article and Reading the Scholarly Article

Anatomy of a Primary Research Article
Document that goes through a research artile highlighting evaluative criteria for every section. Document from Mohawk Valley Community College. Permission to use sought and given. (Lynda Hanley)

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article (NCSU-North Carolina State University Libraries)
Click on highlighted areas to learn more information about the particular section of the article.

Before you write about an article, you need to understand it. Review the various sections of the article.

Reading a scholarly article

Thank you to Melanee Vicedo, Head, Education & Social Work Library Services, University of Southern California (USC), for permission to use this material from her Library Guide: Evaluating Information Sources: Reading Scholarly Articles. Thank you to Lynda Hanley, former Manhattanville Doctoral Education Librarian for compiling and revising this information.

Peer Review in 3 Minutes (North Carolina State University)

Scholarly vs. Popular Periodical?

Click below to link to 3-minute tutorial created by Vanderbilt University Library

Peabody Library provides a brief overview on what makes a scholarly periodical different from a popular periodical. Created by Eli Moody, 2007.

Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals (Peabody Library)

What is a long read?

Long reads or long form journalism are popular periodical articles. Although, they are not considered scholarly or peer reviewed articles, they do provide in-depth coverage of the topic being discussed.

A long read is usually a document/article that someone spends at least 10 minutes reading and is usually 1500 words or longer (1500 words is about 3-4 pages single spaced or 7-8 pages double spaced.).

Example of Long Read article in Atlantic

Twenge, Jean M. “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?” Atlantic, vol. 320, no. 2, Sept. 2017, pp. 58–65. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=124311558&site=ehost-live. [Academic Search Premier Database]

permalink to article:
http://librda.mville.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=124311558&site=ehost-live

Or the same exact article with a different title in the online subscription to the publication:

Twenge, Jean M. “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” Atlantic, Sept. 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/ [web version]

Example of Long Read article in New Yorker:

Schulman, Michael. “The Force Is with Them.” New Yorker, vol. 95, no. 27, Sept. 2019, pp. 26–31. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=138469524&site=ehost-live. [Academic Search Premier Database]
permalink to article: http://librda.mville.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=138469524&site=ehost-live

Or the same exact article with a different title in the online subscription to the publication:

Schulman, Michael. “Superfans: A Love Story,” New Yorker, 9 Sept. 2019, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/16/superfans-a-love-story [web version]

How to Tell if an article is a scholarly/peer reviewed journal

How to tell if an article is a scholarly/peer reviewed journal

The following characteristics can help you determine if the article you’re looking at is scholarly:

Purpose: To communicate research and scholarly ideas.

Audience: Targeted to a specialized audience in a particular discipline or field (e.g. scholars/academics, researchers, practitioners).

Authors: Written by authorities and experts in the field in which they are writing. Before publication, authors must submit their work which must be Peer Reviewed by an editorial board before being approved for publication.

Coverage: Primarily dedicated to publishing original research, literature reviews, and other scholarly work

Appearance: Cover and pages are usually plain in design. There are usually no pictures and limited advertisements. The text may include graphs, tables, and charts. They usually include an introductory abstract. Research articles typically include the following sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, and bibliography. Articles tend to be lengthy, typically over 7 pages.

Sources: Footnotes, references, or bibliography is included. Documentation may be quite extensive.

Language: Uses specific terminology, technical language, or discipline specific jargon.

Frequency: Monthly, quarterly or annually.

13 Ways to Tell Good Research from Bad

13 Ways to Tell Good Research from Bad
The following scholars help create this Journalists’ Resource tip sheet: Adam J. Berinsky, professor of political science at MIT; Marybeth Gasman, professor of higher education at the University of Pennsylvania; Morgan L. W. Hazelton, assistant professor of political science at Saint Louis University; Thomas E. Patterson, professor of government and the press at Harvard University; Eric A. Stewart, professor of criminology at Florida State University. (Provided by Dr. Kenneth Mitchell EDAD 8300)

Evaluating the article, chapter, page

ABC's of Evaluating Information Sources
Basic criteria (audience, authority, bias, currency, scope) to use when eveluating your surces of information.
Adapted from Eugene McDermott Library: UT Dallas. (2021, May 18). Where do I start?
https://libguides.utdallas.edu/c.php?g=330758&p=2220642 Permission to use sought and given.

Evaluating the Journal or Publisher

Cabell's Educational Directories
Cabell's is a directory providing information on journals including manuscript and review process guidelines, journal quality metrics, submission criteria and other information for evaluating and selecting academic journals for publication of research.

Journal Evaluation Tool
This article from the William H. Hannon Library describes and presents a rubric that can be used to determine the credibility of a journal (source) that you are considering.
Think - Check - Submit
Think. Check. Submit. helps researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research. Through a range of tools and practical resources, this international, cross-sector initiative aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.

Think Check Submit Publication Checklist
The checklist is a tool that will help you discover what you need to know when assessing whether or not a publisher is suitable for your research

Google Scholar Metrics-Social Science
Google Scholar Metrics provide an easy way for authors to quickly gauge the visibility and influence of recent articles in scholarly publications. Scholar Metrics summarize recent citations to many publications, to help authors as they consider where to publish their new research. To get started, you can browse the top 20 publications in several languages, ordered by their five-year h-index and h-median metrics.
Google Scholar Metrics
Provides an overview of Google Scholar Metrics

Fact-checking websites can help you investigate claims to help you determine whether what you hear or read is true. These resources can help you determine the legitimacy of a claim. They can also help you determine if a site is legitimate.
You can practice lateral reading, like a fact checker. Google the site, open up multiple tabs, read several different sources about the information or site in question.
However, even fact-checking websites should be examined critically.

The CRAP Test

Currency
Is the copyright or publication date current?
If the material is dated, justification should be included for using outdated material.
Is the material to be used for background or historical purposes?

Relevance
How is this document useful to your research?
How does it directly relate to the research that you are investigating?

Authority
Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor? What are the credentials of the author/publisher/source/sponsor? What is the author’s occupation, position, titles, education, experience, etc.? Is the author/publisher/
source/sponsor qualified (or not) to write on this subject?
Does the source provide accurate information (cite its sources) and is it trustworthy?

Purpose
What is the purpose for writing this document or doing this research? Does the author/publisher/source/sponsor have a bias or make assumptions within the source? Does the author have a hidden agenda? Is the source trying to sell you something, or is it trying to persuade you to think a certain way? Is it fact or opinion?

Evaluate sources using the CRAP Test.
• Use the CRAP to help you evaluate sources. <br /> • The CRAP Test is not a checklist. <br /> • These criteria can help you choose and select sources that are appropriate for your needs.<br /> • Each criteria includes points and prompts to consider when evaluating a source.<br /> • Use the prompts as a guide. It is not necessary to answer every prompt.

What is Lateral Reading? (3.33 minute video)

Evaluating online sources using Lateral Reading (3.33.minute video)
Lateral Reading,” a strategy used by professional fact-checkers to investigate the reliability of online sources.
This video is part of a series created by Citizen Literacy
Citizen Literacy was created by Robert Detmering, Amber Willenborg, and Terri Holtze for University of Louisville Libraries.
Citizen Literacy
Citizen Literacy is an online toolkit that promotes the development of key information skills for democratic citizenship and features short videos, handouts, and activities that faculty across all disciplines can integrate into their courses and assignments.

Education Resources: Evaluate Sources

Importance of Evaluation