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WRIT 102

WRIT 102. Introduction to Library Research, part II. Evaluating journal articles. (green handout). What is the purpose of the article? . to persuade the reader to do something? to inform the reader? to prove something?. Audience.

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WRIT 102

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  1. WRIT 102 Introduction to Library Research, part II

  2. Evaluating journal articles (green handout)

  3. What is the purpose of the article? • to persuade the reader to do something? • to inform the reader? • to prove something?

  4. Audience For what type of reader is the author writing? (This is related to the type of journal in which the article is published) • general readers? • students (high school, college, graduate)? • specialists or professionals? • researchers or scholars?

  5. What type of journal (source) published the article? • For college-level research, information should be obtained for the most part from scholarly journals. • Trade magazines may be useful for topics in business or where economic data is needed. • Popular magazines, such as Time and Newsweek, should be used sparingly, or not at all.

  6. Authority of the author • Is the author an expert in this field? • Where is the author employed? • What else has he/she written? • Has he/she won awards or honors?

  7. Bias of the journal’s publisher Some publications have an inherent bias that will impact articles printed in them. Is the journal: • liberal? • conservative? • published by an alternative press? • published by a political action group?

  8. Organization/coverage of the article • Is the material organized and focused? Is the argument or presentation understandable? • Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece? How do you know? • Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it an overview?

  9. Illustrations • Are charts, graphs, maps, photographs, etc. used to illustrate concepts? • Are the illustrations relevant? • Are they clear and professional-looking?

  10. Date/currency • Does your topic require current information? • Does your topic value older material as well as current? • Is the article up-to-date? Out-of-date? Timeless?

  11. Usefulness ·Is the article relevant to your research project? Is it useful to you? Does it: • - support an argument? • - refute an argument? • - give examples ? (survey results, primary research findings, case studies, incidents) • - provide "wrong" information you can challenge or disagree with?

  12. Bibliography: • Scholarly works always contain a bibliography of resources consulted. The references should be appropriate to and in sufficient quantity for the content of the article.

  13. Bibliography (cont.): • Is it short or long? • Is it selective or comprehensive? • Are the references primary sources or secondary sources? • Are the references contemporary to the article or much older? • Is the citation style clear and consistent?

  14. Online articles: how can you tell if they’re popular or scholarly? • How long is the article? (longer articles tend to be scholarly ones, but not always!) • How long is the bibliography? (10+ or even 30+ sources are more often found in scholarly articles) • Language / use of technical jargon

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