Gingrich Library: Your Success Is Why We're Here!
Why evaluate sources? Remember:
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.
|
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 |
Click the icon below to view a brief video about evaluating sources for research papers.
Different types of publications have different purposes and different audiences. When we talk about journals and magazines, we can usually divide these publications into categories. See the table to the left that illustrates characterisitcs of both scholarly and popular publications. For this class, these criteria can help you decide if solething is of high, medium or low validity.
One very important difference between scholarly journals and other types of publications is peer review.