Gingrich Library: POL 373A -- Environmental Law: Scholarly (Academic) vs. Popular

Evaluating What You Find: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Why evaluate sources? Remember:

Anyone with a little time, some knowledge and small amount of money can publish on the Internet.
No person, persons or organization reviews the content of the Internet.
Pages are retrieved by search engines based on the page's content, not the relevancy or quality of the page.
Much information on the Web is not updated regularly.

The following four criteria can help you to evaluate your sources:

Authority--Who is the author? What is his expertise? Who is the publisher?
Accuracy--Is it well-researched? Is there a bibliography or references so you can locate the original source of the information? Do the facts jive with other sources?
Objectivity--Is there bias? Is the information promoting a specific point of view or is it objective?
Currency--Is the information up-to-date? Is it too dated to be useful?

Thinking about any type of publication, including websites, in this way will help ensure that you have located the best information available.

Scholarly vs. Popular

Characteristics	Scholarly Journal	Popular Magazine
Length	Articles are usually 10 pages or more in length; providing in-depth analysis of topics	Shorter articles (less than 10 pages), providing broader overview of topics
Written by	Author usually an expert or specialist in the field, name and credentials always provided	Author usually a journalist or a staff writer, name and credentials often not provided
Language/Written for	Written in technical language for professors, researchers, students of the field	Written at high school level for the general public
Coverage	Original research results and scholarship	Popular topics and current events
Slant	Supposed to present objective/neutral viewpoint;	May reflect the editorial bias/slant of the magazine
Frequency	Usually quarterly	Usually weekly
Format/Structure	Articles usually structured, may include: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography	Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure
Special Features	Illustrations that support the text, such as, tables of statistics, graphs, diagrams, maps, or photographs	Illustrations with glossy paper or color photographs
Appearance	Serious and sober, with few colors and few or no advertisements	Glossy, with pictures and advertisements
Editors	Articles usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (known as refereed or peer-reviewed)	Articles are not reviewed by experts in the field, but by editors on staff
References Cited	Usually includes a bibliography and/or footnotes	Usually has no bibliography or footnotes
Examples	Ecology Social Science Quarterly American Political Science Review	Time Newsweek Sports Illustrated Scientific American

A Word about Books

A Word of Warning!! Just because the library owns a book, it doesn't mean the book qualifies as academic. Use the hints below and in the chart to determine if the book is scholarly/ academic or popular.

Most of the items in the chart can also apply to books. Ask some of the following questions:

Who is the author and is s/he an expert? Read the book jacket or information often located in the beginning or end of the book. Try Google or Amazon to see what else the author might have written and to check his affiliation. Check the online catalog to see if the library has other items written by the author.

Who is the publisher? Do they have a specialty? University presses, some societies, and some associations usually publish academic titles, but some other publishers do as well. Visit their website to see their focus.

Is there a bibliography, references or footnotes?

What is the language of the book? Is it technical or is it for the general public.

Is it well-organized with a clear structure? Does it have a preface, a table of contents, an introduction, an index?