1
Peer-reviewed academic publications
Rigorous research and analysis
Provide strong evidence for claims and references to other high-quality sources
Google Scholar, library catalogs, and academic article databases
2
Reports, articles, and books from credible non-academic sources
Well researched and even-handed descriptions of an event or state of the world
Initial research on events or trends not yet analyzed in the academic literature; may reference important Tier 1 sources
Websites of relevant agencies, Google searches using (site: *.gov or site: *.org), academic article databases
3
Short pieces from newspapers or credible websites
Simple reporting of events, research findings, or policy changes
Often point to useful Tier 2 or Tier 1 sources, may provide a factoid or two not found anywhere else
Strategic Google searches or article databases including newspapers and magazines
4
Agenda-driven or uncertain pieces
Mostly opinion, varying in thoughtfulness and credibility
May represent a particular position within a debate; more often provide keywords and clues about higher quality sources
Non-specific Google searches
Tier 1: Peer-reviewed academic publications
These are sources from the mainstream academic literature: books and scholarly articles. Academic books generally fall into three categories: (1) textbooks written with students in mind, (2) monographs which give an extended report on a large research project, and (3) edited volumes in which each chapter is authored by different people. Scholarly articles appear in academic journals, which are published multiple times a year in order to share the latest research findings with scholars in the field. They’re usually sponsored by some academic society. To get published, these articles and books had to earn favorable anonymous evaluations by qualified scholars in a process called Peer Review . Who are the experts writing, reviewing, and editing these scholarly publications? Your professors. This process is described in more detail below. Learning how to read and use these sources is a fundamental part of being a college student.
Video source: https://youtu.be/rOCQZ7QnoN0
Tier 2: Reports, articles and books from credible non-academic sources
Some events and trends are too recent to appear in Tier 1 sources. Also, Tier 1 sources tend to be highly specific, and sometimes you need a more general perspective on a topic. Thus, Tier 2 sources can provide quality information that is more accessible to non-academics. There are three main categories. First, official reports from government agencies or major international institutions like the World Bank or the United Nations ; these institutions generally have research departments staffed with qualified experts who seek to provide rigorous, even-handed information to decision-makers. Second, feature articles from major newspapers and magazines like the New York Times , Wall Street Journal , London Times , or The Economist are based on original reporting by experienced journalists (not press releases) and are typically 1500+ words in length. Third, there are some great books from non-academic presses that cite their sources; they’re often written by journalists. All three of these sources are generally well researched descriptions of an event or state of the world, undertaken by credentialed experts who generally seek to be even-handed. It is still up to you to judge their credibility. Your instructors and campus librarians can advise you on which sources in this category have the most credibility.
Tier 3. Short pieces from periodicals or credible websites
A step below the well-developed reports and feature articles that make up Tier 2 are the short tidbits that one finds in newspapers and magazines or credible websites. How short is a short news article? Usually, they’re just a couple paragraphs or less, and they’re often reporting on just one thing: an event, an interesting research finding, or a policy change. They don’t take extensive research and analysis to write, and many just summarize a press release written and distributed by an organization or business. They may describe things like corporate mergers, newly discovered diet-health links, or important school-funding legislation. You may want to cite Tier 3 sources in your paper if they provide an important factoid or two that isn’t provided by a higher-tier piece, but if the Tier 3 article describes a particular study or academic expert, your best bet is to find the journal article or book it is reporting on and use that Tier 1 source instead. If the article mentions which journal the study was published in, you can go right to that journal through your library website. Sometimes you can find the original journal article by putting the scholar’s name and some keywords into Google Scholar.
What counts as a credible website in this tier? You may need some guidance from instructors or librarians, but you can learn a lot by examining the person or organization providing the information (look for an “About” link). For example, if the organization is clearly agenda-driven or not up-front about its aims and/or funding sources, then it definitely isn’t something you want to cite as a neutral authority. Also look for signs of expertise. A tidbit about a medical research finding written by someone with a science background carries more weight than the same topic written by a policy analyst. These sources are sometimes uncertain, which is all the more reason to follow the trail to a Tier 1 or Tier 2 source whenever possible.
Tier 4. Agenda-driven or pieces from unknown sources
This tier is essentially everything else, including Wikipedia. [1] These types of sources—especially Wikipedia—can be hugely helpful in identifying interesting topics, positions within a debate, keywords to search on, and, sometimes, higher-tier sources on the topic. They often play a critically important role in the early part of the research process, but they generally aren’t (and shouldn’t be) cited in the final paper. Throwing some keywords into Google and seeing what you get is a fine way to get started, but don’t stop there. Start a list of the people, organizations, sources, and keywords that seem most relevant to your topic. For example, suppose you’ve been assigned a research paper about the impact of linen production and trade on the ancient world. A quick Google search reveals that (1) linen comes from the flax plant, (2) the scientific name for flax is Linum usitatissimum , (3) Egypt dominated linen production at the height of its empire, and (4) Alex J. Warden published a book about ancient linen trade in 1867. Similarly, you found some useful search terms to try instead of “ancient world” (antiquity, Egyptian empire, ancient Egypt, ancient Mediterranean) and some generalizations for linen (fabric, textiles, or weaving). Now you’ve got a lot to work with as you tap into the library catalog and academic article databases.
For examples of different styles of writing, see “Module 4: Supplementary Readings” in this textbook
All information sources are not created equal. Sources can vary greatly in terms of how carefully they are researched, written, edited, and reviewed for accuracy. Common sense will help you identify obviously questionable sources, such as tabloids that feature tales of alien abductions, or personal websites with glaring typos. Sometimes, however, a source’s reliability—or lack of it—is not so obvious.
To evaluate your research sources, you will use critical thinking skills consciously and deliberately. You will consider criteria such as the type of source, its intended purpose and audience, the author’s qualifications, the publication’s reputation, any indications of bias or hidden agendas, how current the source is, and the overall quality of the writing, thinking, and design.
The different types of sources you will consult are written for distinct purposes and with different audiences in mind. This accounts for other differences, such as the following:
A journal article written for an academic audience for the purpose of expanding scholarship in a given field will take an approach quite different from a magazine feature written to inform a general audience. Textbooks, hard news articles, and websites approach a subject from different angles as well. To some extent, the type of source provides clues about its overall depth and reliability. The following table ranks popular sources of information:
These sources provide the most in-depth information. They are researched and written by subject matter experts and are carefully reviewed. | , Canadian Paramedicine, or Business Review |
These sources are often useful. However, they do not cover subjects in as much depth as high-quality sources, and they are not always rigorously researched and reviewed. Some, such as popular magazine articles or company brochures, may be written to market a product or a cause. | |
These sources are often written primarily to attract a large readership or present the author’s opinions and are not subject to careful review. | |
Even when you are using a type of source that is generally reliable, you will still need to evaluate the author’s credibility and the publication itself on an individual basis. To examine the author’s credibility —that is, how much you can believe of what the author has to say—examine his or her credentials. What career experience or academic study shows that the author has the expertise to write about this topic?
Video source: https://youtu.be/tdcmjPR7Ntw
Keep in mind that expertise in one field is no guarantee of expertise in another, unrelated area. For instance, an author may have an advanced degree in physiology, but this credential is not a valid qualification for writing about psychology. Check credentials carefully.
Just as important as the author’s credibility is the publication’s overall reputability. Reputability refers to a source’s standing and reputation as a respectable, reliable source of information. An established and well-known newspaper, such as the Globe and Mail or the New York Times, is more reputable than a college newspaper put out by comparatively inexperienced students. A website that is maintained by a well-known, respected organization and is regularly updated is more reputable than one created by an unknown author or group.
If you are using articles from scholarly journals, you can check databases that keep count of how many times each article has been cited in other articles. This can give you a rough indication of the article’s quality or, at the very least, of its influence and reputation among other scholars.
Depending on the topic, sources may become outdated relatively soon after publication, or they may remain useful for years. The age of a source you can use will depend on your research topic and approach. For example, were you to be investigating current medical developments for Diabetes, be sure to seek out sources that are current, or up to date. If you were examining the history of Diabetes medical developments, you would be looking for sources as far back as you could go.
Timeliness is a complicated issue for researchers, particularly with the internet. For instance, online social networking sites have evolved rapidly over the past few years. An article published in 2002 about this topic will not provide current information. On the other hand, a research paper on elementary education practices might refer to studies published decades ago by influential child psychologists.
When using websites for research, check to see when the site was last updated. Many sites publish this information on the homepage, and some, such as news sites, are updated daily or weekly. Many nonfunctioning links are a sign that a website is not regularly updated. Do not be afraid to ask your instructor for suggestions if you find that many of your most relevant sources are not especially reliable—or that the most reliable sources are not relevant.
When you evaluate a source, you will consider the criteria previously discussed as well as your overall impressions of its quality. Read carefully, and notice how well the author presents and supports his or her statements. Stay actively engaged—do not simply accept an author’s words as truth.
Source Evaluation Questions:
The critical thinking skills you use to evaluate research sources as a student are equally valuable when you conduct research on the job. If you follow certain periodicals or websites, you have probably identified publications that consistently provide reliable information. Reading blogs and online discussion groups is a great way to identify new trends and hot topics in a particular field, but these sources should not be used for substantial research.
Self-Practice Exercise
Use a search engine to conduct a web search on your topic. Refer to the tips provided earlier to help you streamline your search. Evaluate your search results critically based on the criteria you have learned. Identify and bookmark one or more websites that are reliable, reputable, and likely to be useful in your research.
As you determine which sources you will rely on most, it is important to establish a system for keeping track of your sources and taking notes. There are several ways to go about it, and no one system is necessarily superior. What matters is that you keep materials in order; record bibliographical information you will need later; and take detailed, organized notes.
Bibliographic information is all the referencing information you need from all sources you consider using for your paper—think of this as your working references page. Any time you look at a source, you should make note of all the referencing information—you may later decide to change direction in your paper or simply choose not to use that source as you develop your paper, but if you do decide to use that source, you will have all the details you need when compiling your references page.
Think ahead to a moment a few weeks from now when you will have written your final research paper and are almost ready to submit it for a grade. There is just one task left: writing your list of sources.
As you begin typing your list, you realize you need to include the publication information for a book you cited frequently. Unfortunately, you already returned it to the library several days ago. You do not remember the URLs for some of the websites you used or the dates you accessed them—information that also must be included in your reference page. With a sinking feeling, you realize that finding this information and preparing your references will require hours of work.
This stressful scenario can be avoided. Taking time to organize source information now will ensure that you are not scrambling to find it at the last minute. Throughout your research, record bibliographical information for each source as soon as you begin using it. You may use pen-and-paper methods, such as a notebook or note cards, or maintain an electronic list. (If you prefer the latter option, many office software packages include separate programs for recording bibliographic information, or you can try popular programs like Mendeley or Zotero )
Use these details to develop a working bibliography —a preliminary list of sources that you will later use to develop the references section of your paper. You may wish to record information using the formatting system of the American Psychological Association (APA), which will save a step later on.
Details for Commonly Used Source Types
Book | Author(s), title and subtitle, publisher, city of publication, year of publication |
Essay or article published in a book | Include all the information you would for any other book. Additionally, record the essay’s or article’s title, author(s), the pages on which it appears, and the name of the book’s editor(s). |
Periodical | Author(s), article title, publication title, date of publication, volume and issue number, and page numbers |
Online source | Author(s) (if available), article or document title, organization that sponsors the site, database name (if applicable), date of publication, date you accessed the site, and URL |
Interview | Name of person interviewed, method of communication, date of interview |
Most of the Tier 1 sources available are academic articles, also called scholarly articles, scholarly papers, journal articles, academic papers, or peer-reviewed articles. They all mean the same thing: a paper published in an academic periodical (think: magazine for nerds) after being scrutinized anonymously and judged to be sound by other experts in the subfield. Academic papers are essentially reports that scholars write to their peers—present and future—about what they’ve done in their research, what they’ve found, and why they think it’s important. The origin of academic articles explains both their basic structure and the high esteem they have in the eyes of your professors.
Thus, in a lot of fields they often have a structure reminiscent of the lab reports you may have written for science classes:
But beware! Not all papers are so “sciencey.” For example, a historical or literary analysis doesn’t necessarily have a “data and methods” section; however, they do explain and justify the research question, describe how the authors’ own points relate to those made in other relevant articles and books, develop the key insights yielded by the analysis, and conclude by explaining their significance. Some academic papers are review articles, in which the “data” are published papers and the “findings” are key insights, enduring lines of debate, and/or remaining unanswered questions.
Credible scholarly journals use a peer-review process to decide which articles merit publication. However, academia is seeing a shift in how research is being disseminated. Self-publishing on platforms such as Academia.edu or even LinkedIn is becoming increasingly more popular, but comes with a risk: the articles are not likely to have been peer-reviewed. There are also open-access journals that do not charge fees to institutions or researchers to read articles.
Reading an academic journal article is different from most reading strategies that you may use in other contexts. Rarely do researchers read an academic journal in a linear way, from start to finish. Check out the following video for tips on how to read academic journal articles efficiently and effectively:
Video source: https://youtu.be/3MzBumiwje0
Research papers, amongst others, are the most common papers a college student will ever write, and as difficult as it may sound, it is not impossible to complete. Research papers are my favorite kind of papers because of sourcing, paraphrasing, and quoting. Naturally as you would in other papers, your own paper should come from yourself, but when you are proving a point about a specific area of your topic, it is always ok to have a credible source explain further. In college, sources are very important for most, if not all papers you will have, and citing those sources is important as well. After you are able to familiarize yourself with citations, it will come natural like it has for many students.
Sifting through library stacks and database search results to find the information you need can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. If you are not sure how you should begin your search, or if it is yielding too many or too few results, you are not alone. Many students find this process challenging, although it does get easier with experience. One way to learn better search strategies is to consult a reference librarian.
Reference librarians are intimately familiar with the systems libraries use to organize and classify information. They can help you locate a particular book in the library stacks, steer you toward useful reference works, and provide tips on how to use databases and other electronic research tools. Take the time to see what resources you can find on your own, but if you encounter difficulties, ask for help.
You can find the Sheridan College Library information here .
Visit your library’s website or consult with a reference librarian to determine what periodicals indexes or databases would be useful for your research. Depending on your topic, you may rely on a general news index, a specialized index for a particular subject area, or both. Search the catalogue for your topic and related keywords. Print out or bookmark your search results.
Identify at least one to two relevant periodicals, indexes, or databases.
Conduct a keyword search to find potentially relevant articles on your topic.
Save your search results. If the index you are using provides article summaries, read these to determine how useful the articles are likely to be.
Identify at least three to five articles to review more closely. If the full article is available online, set aside time to read it. If not, plan to visit our library within the next few days to locate the articles you need.
PRO TIP: One way to refine your keyword search is to use Boolean operators. These allow you to combine keywords, find variations on a word, and otherwise expand or limit your results. Here are some of the ways you can use Boolean operators:
Sheridan’s Library collects academic material related to all programs and courses offered at Sheridan. Along with the traditional library materials in print (books, journals, etc), they increasingly collect online material so that you can easily access our content at any time from anywhere!
For a more comprehensive overview of the Sheridan Library, check out their First Year Quick Start Guide .
Use Summon to find content from the many different databases and collections that we subscribe to, as well as items on library shelves. A great place to start your search!
Once you become familiar with library resources, you’ll quickly get to know which databases are best for your specific information need. We list all of our databases and sites through the Databases A-Z list.
View library-created Research Guides to find all types of resources specific to your research topics.
We have over 200 databases on a wide range of subjects and disciplines. Use the A-Z Database List to access databases and streaming media sites, which includes content from journal articles, newspapers, images, videos, tutorials, and more.
We currently have more ebooks than books on the shelves! We get ebooks from more than one company. Some can be downloaded, but most are available without downloading. All you need is your Sheridan Credentials to access them! Find ebooks through Summon .
Textbooks are available for 3hr loan periods at each campus library. Our textbooks are intended to be used for quick reference only. We recommend that students purchase their own copies. Search for your textbook titles in Summon . Course reserves are typically non-textbook items that a professor has recommended for reading. Loan periods are generally 2hr loans, but may vary. Course reserves are kept behind the service desk at each campus library. Ask staff at the library service desk .
We have many resources available for all levels of ESL students to improve reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. See our English Language Learning Guide for more details.
You can now borrow board games, video games and PlayStation game consoles from the library! Board games are available at Davis campus library. Video games and PlayStation consoles are available at Trafalgar campus library. Visit us in person to check them out, and see the Borrowing Policy below for more details.
All Sheridan campus libraries and learning commons provide a range of environments for different needs.
Book a Group Study Room online.
At the Tutoring Centre, Learning Assistants (LAs) offer tutoring in specific subject areas (listed below) at no additional cost to you as a Sheridan student. As senior co-op students recruited from Sheridan, University of Waterloo, Ryerson, and University of Guelph, the LAs in the Tutoring Centre are knowledgeable and well qualified to support you in your studies.
How it Works:
Book up to 2 hours per week, per subject.
Writing for Academic and Professional Contexts: An Introduction Copyright © 2023 by Sheridan College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Primary sources, secondary sources, tertiary sources, primary and secondary sources in law.
This guide will introduce students to three types of resources or sources of information: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Primary sources are firsthand documents that provide direct evidence on your topic. The Library of Congress refers to them as the "raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience."
A primary source is most often created during the time the events you are studying occurred, such as newspaper articles from the period, correspondence, diplomatic records, original research reports and notes, diaries etc. They may also include items created after the events occurred, but that recount them such as autobiographies and oral histories.
Original Documents | Creative Works | Relics and Artifacts |
---|---|---|
Diaries | Art works | Pottery |
Speeches | Novels | Decorative arts |
Correspondence | Poetry | Clothing |
Interviews | Music | Buildings |
Manuscripts | Architectural drawings/plans | Textiles |
Government Documents | Photographs | Needlework |
News film footage | Film | |
Archival Materials | ||
Autobiographies |
Secondary Sources are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence. ¹
¹ Yale University Library, "Primary, secondary & tertiary sources" http://guides.library.yale.edu/content.php?pid=129904&sid=1196376
Secondary Sources |
---|
Bibliographies |
Biographical works |
Commentaries, criticisms |
Conference proceedings |
Essays or reviews |
Histories |
Literary criticism such as journal articles |
Magazine and newspaper articles |
Monographs, other than fiction and autobiographies |
Reprints of art works |
Textbooks (could also be considered tertiary) |
Websites (could also be considered primary) |
A tertiary source presents summaries or condensed versions of materials, usually with references back to the primary and/or secondary sources.
Tertiary Sources |
---|
Almanacs |
Abstracts |
Dictionaries |
Encyclopedias |
Handbooks |
A statement of the law itself from a governmental entity, such as a court, legislature, executive agency, President or Governor.
Materials that discuss, explain, interpret, and analyze what the law is or what it should be.
Primary Sources in law | Secondary Sources in law |
---|---|
Code of Federal Regulations | Articles about law |
Contracts, wills, other legal documents | Books about law |
Court decisions | Law reference books |
Federal Registrar | Law reveiws |
US Code | Legal news |
Text of legislative bills |
A guide for early career researchers.
In scholarly literature, there are many different kinds of articles published every year. Original research articles are often the first thing you think of when you hear the words ‘journal article’. In reality, research work often results in a whole mixture of different outputs and it’s not just the final research article that can be published.
Finding a home to publish supporting work in different formats can help you start publishing sooner, allowing you to build your publication record and research profile.
But before you do, it’s very important that you check the instructions for authors and the aims and scope of the journal(s) you’d like to submit to. These will tell you whether they accept the type of article you’re thinking of writing and what requirements they have around it.
There’s a huge variety of different types of articles – some unique to individual journals – so it’s important to explore your options carefully. While it would be impossible to cover every single article type here, below you’ll find a guide to the most common research articles and outputs you could consider submitting for publication.
Many academic journals publish book reviews, which aim to provide insight and opinion on recently published scholarly books. Writing book reviews is often a good way to begin academic writing. It can help you get your name known in your field and give you valuable experience of publishing before you write a full-length article.
If you’re keen to write a book review, a good place to start is looking for journals that publish or advertise the books they have available for review. Then it’s just a matter of putting yourself forward for one of them.
You can check whether a journal publishes book reviews by browsing previous issues or by seeing if a book review editor is listed on the editorial board. In addition, some journals publish other types of reviews, such as film, product, or exhibition reviews, so it’s worth bearing those in mind as options as well.
Be prepared, speed up your submission, and make sure nothing is forgotten by understanding a journal’s individual requirements.
Expert tips and guidance on getting published and maximizing the impact of your research. Register now for weekly insights direct to your inbox.
A medical case report – also sometimes called a clinical case study – is an original short report that provides details of a single patient case.
Case reports include detailed information on the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. They remain one of the cornerstones of medical progress and provide many new ideas in medicine.
Depending on the journal, a case report doesn’t necessarily need to describe an especially novel or unusual case as there is benefit from collecting details of many standard cases.
Take a look at F1000Research’s guidance on case reports , to understand more about what’s required in them. And don’t forget that for all studies involving human participants, informed written consent to take part in the research must be obtained from the participants – find out more about consent to publish.
In medicine, a clinical study report is a type of article that provides in-depth detail on the methods and results of a clinical trial. They’re typically similar in length and format to original research articles.
Most journals now require that you register protocols for clinical trials you’re involved with in a publicly accessible registry. A list of eligible registries can be found on the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) . Trials can also be registered at clinicaltrials.gov or the EU Clinical Trials Register . Once registered, your trial will be assigned a clinical trial number (CTN).
Before you submit a clinical study, you’ll need to include clinical trial numbers and registration dates in the manuscript, usually in the abstract and methods sections.
Letters to editors, as well as ‘replies’ and ‘discussions’, are usually brief comments on topical issues of public and political interest (related to the research field of the journal), anecdotal material, or readers’ reactions to material published in the journal.
Commentaries are similar, though they may be slightly more in-depth, responding to articles recently published in the journal. There may be a ‘target article’ which various commentators are invited to respond to.
You’ll need to look through previous issues of any journal you’re interested in writing for and review the instructions for authors to see which types of these articles (if any) they accept.
Many of our medical journals accept conference material supplements. These are open access peer-reviewed, permanent, and citable publications within the journal. Conference material supplements record research around a common thread, as presented at a workshop, congress, or conference, for the scientific record. They can include the following types of articles:
Poster extracts
Conference abstracts
Presentation extracts
Find out more about submitting conference materials.
Data notes are a short peer-reviewed article type that concisely describe research data stored in a repository. Publishing a data note can help you to maximize the impact of your data and gain appropriate credit for your research.
Data notes promote the potential reuse of research data and include details of why and how the data were created. They do not include any analysis but they can be linked to a research article incorporating analysis of the published dataset, as well as the results and conclusions.
F1000Research enables you to publish your data note rapidly and openly via an author-centric platform. There is also a growing range of options for publishing data notes in Taylor & Francis journals, including in All Life and Big Earth Data .
Read our guide to data notes to find out more.
Letters or short reports (sometimes known as brief communications or rapid communications) are brief reports of data from original research.
Editors publish these reports where they believe the data will be interesting to many researchers and could stimulate further research in the field. There are even entire journals dedicated to publishing letters.
As they’re relatively short, the format is useful for researchers with results that are time sensitive (for example, those in highly competitive or quickly-changing disciplines). This format often has strict length limits, so some experimental details may not be published until the authors write a full original research article.
Brief reports (previously called Research Notes) are a type of short report published by F1000Research – part of the Taylor & Francis Group. To find out more about the requirements for a brief report, take a look at F1000Research’s guidance .
A method article is a medium length peer-reviewed, research-focused article type that aims to answer a specific question. It also describes an advancement or development of current methodological approaches and research procedures (akin to a research article), following the standard layout for research articles. This includes new study methods, substantive modifications to existing methods, or innovative applications of existing methods to new models or scientific questions. These should include adequate and appropriate validation to be considered, and any datasets associated with the paper must publish all experimental controls and make full datasets available.
With F1000Research, you can publish scholarly posters and slides covering basic scientific, translational, and clinical research within the life sciences and medicine. You can find out more about how to publish posters and slides on the F1000Research website .
A Registered Report consists of two different kinds of articles: a study protocol and an original research article.
This is because the review process for Registered Reports is divided into two stages. In Stage 1, reviewers assess study protocols before data is collected. In Stage 2, reviewers consider the full published study as an original research article, including results and interpretation.
Taking this approach, you can get an in-principle acceptance of your research article before you start collecting data. We’ve got further guidance on Registered Reports here , and you can also read F1000Research’s guidance on preparing a Registered Report .
Original research articles are the most common type of journal article. They’re detailed studies reporting new work and are classified as primary literature.
You may find them referred to as original articles, research articles, research, or even just articles, depending on the journal.
Typically, especially in STEM subjects, these articles will include Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion sections. However, you should always check the instructions for authors of your chosen journal to see whether it specifies how your article should be structured. If you’re planning to write an original research article, take a look at our guidance on writing a journal article .
Review articles provide critical and constructive analysis of existing published literature in a field. They’re usually structured to provide a summary of existing literature, analysis, and comparison. Often, they identify specific gaps or problems and provide recommendations for future research.
Unlike original research articles, review articles are considered as secondary literature. This means that they generally don’t present new data from the author’s experimental work, but instead provide analysis or interpretation of a body of primary research on a specific topic. Secondary literature is an important part of the academic ecosystem because it can help explain new or different positions and ideas about primary research, identify gaps in research around a topic, or spot important trends that one individual research article may not.
Literature review
Presents the current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic.
Systematic review
Identifies, appraises and synthesizes all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question. Researchers conducting systematic reviews use explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view aimed at minimizing bias, to produce more reliable findings to inform decision making.
Meta-analysis
A quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design used to systematically assess the results of previous research to derive conclusions about that body of research. Typically, but not necessarily, a meta-analysis study is based on randomized, controlled clinical trials.
Take a look at our guide to writing a review article for more guidance on what’s required.
A software tool article – published by F1000Research – describes the rationale for the development of a new software tool and details of the code used for its construction.
The article should provide examples of suitable input data sets and include an example of the output that can be expected from the tool and how this output should be interpreted. Software tool articles submitted to F1000Research should be written in open access programming languages. Take a look at their guidance for more details on what’s required of a software tool article.
Ready to write your article, but not sure where to start?
For more guidance on how to prepare and write an article for a journal you can download the Writing your paper eBook .
Learning outcomes.
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
As you conduct research, you will work with a range of “texts” in various forms, including sources and documents from online databases as well as images, audio, and video files from the Internet. You may also work with archival materials and with transcribed and analyzed primary data. Additionally, you will be taking notes and recording quotations from secondary sources as you find materials that shape your understanding of your topic and, at the same time, provide you with facts and perspectives. You also may download articles as PDFs that you then annotate. Like many other students, you may find it challenging to keep so much material organized, accessible, and easy to work with while you write a major research paper. As it does for many of those students, a research log for your ideas and sources will help you keep track of the scope, purpose, and possibilities of any research project.
A research log is essentially a journal in which you collect information, ask questions, and monitor the results. Even if you are completing the annotated bibliography for Writing Process: Informing and Analyzing , keeping a research log is an effective organizational tool. Like Lily Tran’s research log entry, most entries have three parts: a part for notes on secondary sources, a part for connections to the thesis or main points, and a part for your own notes or questions. Record source notes by date, and allow room to add cross-references to other entries.
Your assignment is to create a research log similar to the student model. You will use it for the argumentative research project assigned in Writing Process: Integrating Research to record all secondary source information: your notes, complete publication data, relation to thesis, and other information as indicated in the right-hand column of the sample entry.
Another Lens. A somewhat different approach to maintaining a research log is to customize it to your needs or preferences. You can apply shading or color coding to headers, rows, and/or columns in the three-column format (for colors and shading). Or you can add columns to accommodate more information, analysis, synthesis, or commentary, formatting them as you wish. Consider adding a column for questions only or one for connections to other sources. Finally, consider a different visual format , such as one without columns. Another possibility is to record some of your comments and questions so that you have an aural rather than a written record of these.
At this point, or at any other point during the research and writing process, you may find that your school’s writing center can provide extensive assistance. If you are unfamiliar with the writing center, now is a good time to pay your first visit. Writing centers provide free peer tutoring for all types and phases of writing. Discussing your research with a trained writing center tutor can help you clarify, analyze, and connect ideas as well as provide feedback on works in progress.
You may begin your research log with some open pages in which you freewrite, exploring answers to the following questions. Although you generally would do this at the beginning, it is a process to which you likely will return as you find more information about your topic and as your focus changes, as it may during the course of your research.
These are beginning questions. Like Lily Tran, however, you will come across general questions or issues that a quick note or freewrite may help you resolve. The key to this section is to revisit it regularly. Written answers to these and other self-generated questions in your log clarify your tasks as you go along, helping you articulate ideas and examine supporting evidence critically. As you move further into the process, consider answering the following questions in your freewrite:
As you gather source material for your argumentative research paper, keep in mind that the research is intended to support original thinking. That is, you are not writing an informational report in which you simply supply facts to readers. Instead, you are writing to support a thesis that shows original thinking, and you are collecting and incorporating research into your paper to support that thinking. Therefore, a research log, whether digital or handwritten, is a great way to keep track of your thinking as well as your notes and bibliographic information.
In the model below, Lily Tran records the correct MLA bibliographic citation for the source. Then, she records a note and includes the in-text citation here to avoid having to retrieve this information later. Perhaps most important, Tran records why she noted this information—how it supports her thesis: The human race must turn to sustainable food systems that provide healthy diets with minimal environmental impact, starting now . Finally, she makes a note to herself about an additional visual to include in the final paper to reinforce the point regarding the current pressure on food systems. And she connects the information to other information she finds, thus cross-referencing and establishing a possible synthesis. Use a format similar to that in Table 13.4 to begin your own research log.
6/06/2021 It has been estimated, for example, that by 2050, milk production will increase 58 percent and meat production 73 percent (Chai). |
Shows the pressure being put on food systems that will cause the need for more sustainable systems | Maybe include a graph showing the rising pressure on food systems. Connects to similar predictions about produce and vegan diets. See Lynch et al. |
Chai, Bingil Clark, et al. “Which Diet Has the Least Environmental Impact on Our Planet? A Systematic Review of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets.” , vol. 11, no. 15, 2019, . Accessed 6 Dec. 2020. | ||
Taking good notes will make the research process easier by enabling you to locate and remember sources and use them effectively. While some research projects requiring only a few sources may seem easily tracked, research projects requiring more than a few sources are more effectively managed when you take good bibliographic and informational notes. As you gather evidence for your argumentative research paper, follow the descriptions and the electronic model to record your notes. You can combine these with your research log, or you can use the research log for secondary sources and your own note-taking system for primary sources if a division of this kind is helpful. Either way, be sure to include all necessary information.
These identify the source you are using. When you locate a useful source, record the information necessary to find that source again. It is important to do this as you find each source, even before taking notes from it. If you create bibliographic notes as you go along, then you can easily arrange them in alphabetical order later to prepare the reference list required at the end of formal academic papers. If your instructor requires you to use MLA formatting for your essay, be sure to record the following information:
When using MLA style with online sources, also record the following information:
It is important to understand which documentation style your instructor will require you to use. Check the Handbook for MLA Documentation and Format and APA Documentation and Format styles . In addition, you can check the style guide information provided by the Purdue Online Writing Lab .
These notes record the relevant information found in your sources. When writing your essay, you will work from these notes, so be sure they contain all the information you need from every source you intend to use. Also try to focus your notes on your research question so that their relevance is clear when you read them later. To avoid confusion, work with separate entries for each piece of information recorded. At the top of each entry, identify the source through brief bibliographic identification (author and title), and note the page numbers on which the information appears. Also helpful is to add personal notes, including ideas for possible use of the information or cross-references to other information. As noted in Writing Process: Integrating Research , you will be using a variety of formats when borrowing from sources. Below is a quick review of these formats in terms of note-taking processes. By clarifying whether you are quoting directly, paraphrasing, or summarizing during these stages, you can record information accurately and thus take steps to avoid plagiarism.
A direct quotation is an exact duplication of the author’s words as they appear in the original source. In your notes, put quotation marks around direct quotations so that you remember these words are the author’s, not yours. One advantage of copying exact quotations is that it allows you to decide later whether to include a quotation, paraphrase, or summary. ln general, though, use direct quotations only when the author’s words are particularly lively or persuasive.
A paraphrase is a restatement of the author’s words in your own words. Paraphrase to simplify or clarify the original author’s point. In your notes, use paraphrases when you need to record details but not exact words.
A summary is a brief condensation or distillation of the main point and most important details of the original source. Write a summary in your own words, with facts and ideas accurately represented. A summary is useful when specific details in the source are unimportant or irrelevant to your research question. You may find you can summarize several paragraphs or even an entire article or chapter in just a few sentences without losing useful information. It is a good idea to note when your entry contains a summary to remind you later that it omits detailed information. See Writing Process Integrating Research for more detailed information and examples of quotations, paraphrases, and summaries and when to use them.
Students often become frustrated and at times overwhelmed by the quantity of materials to be managed in the research process. If this is your first time working with both primary and secondary sources, finding ways to keep all of the information in one place and well organized is essential.
Because gathering primary evidence may be a relatively new practice, this section is designed to help you navigate the process. As mentioned earlier, information gathered in fieldwork is not cataloged, organized, indexed, or shelved for your convenience. Obtaining it requires diligence, energy, and planning. Online resources can assist you with keeping a research log. Your college library may have subscriptions to tools such as Todoist or EndNote. Consult with a librarian to find out whether you have access to any of these. If not, use something like the template shown in Figure 13.8 , or another like it, as a template for creating your own research notes and organizational tool. You will need to have a record of all field research data as well as the research log for all secondary sources.
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Summarizing.
Research papers, also known as research essays, must include information from sources. This is called synthesizing or integrating your sources.
There are three ways to incorporate information from other sources into your paper: quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Good research papers should include at least quoting and paraphrasing and preferably also summarizing. The method you choose depends on the best way you can make the point you are trying to make using that particular information from the source. It is very important to remember that even if you are not using the exact words of the author as when you paraphrase or summarize, you must give a source citation.
Every sentence with information from a source must give credit to the source by citing the source. It is NOT all right to have a few sentences from a source and then give credit to the source. A reader would not know how many, if any at all, of the preceding sentences had information from that source. A quote, paraphrase, or summary without a citation giving credit to the source is plagiarism.
Quotations are best used when used sparingly. A common error in many papers is the overuse of quotations. When a paper contains too many quotations the reader may become bored or conclude that you have no ideas of your own. Keep quotations short and only use them when a paraphrase would not capture the meaning or reflect the author’s specific choice of words. You may also wish to introduce a quote if you plan on disagreeing with the source since using the exact words helps the reader understand the differences between your position and the position in the source and helps to show that you are fairly representing the source.
When you decide to use quotations, make sure that you do not simply cut the words out and drop them into your paper. You will need to give a brief introduction to the quote to let readers understand the context of the words and their relationship to your argument. Quotes that do not reflect the meaning of the author within the context are considered out-of-context . Quotes should not be used out-of-context to convey a meaning not intended by the author. In addition, quotes must be incorporated logically into a sequence of sentences.
People pay higher prices for organic food. “The FDA simply does not have enough agents to do thorough inspections” (Jones).
People pay higher prices for organic food. Jones makes a good point when he explains how really impossible it is at this time to tell whether foods are grown without certain chemicals or pesticides to justify these higher prices. “The FDA simply does not have enough agents to do thorough inspections” (Jones).
Quotations must also be incorporated grammatically.
Jones continues to explain, “No proof that pesticides were not used.”
Jones continues to explain that there is “no proof that pesticides were not used.”
Quotations can be modified; however, proper punctuation must be used to indicate the substitutions, additions, and omissions. Any such substitutions, additions or omissions should not result in quoting out of context where the meaning of the quote is changed.
“Besides, step-families offer unique advantages as well. One example is the increase in available emotional support and, other resources from the larger, more extended family. Another is the opportunity the children have for learning how to cope with an ever changing and complicated world due to the social and emotional complexity of their own step family environment” (Pinto).
Pinto acknowledges that blended families can also offer positive aspects. Pinto indicates that “[o]ne example is the increase in available emotional support and, other resources from the larger, more extended family.”
See how a small letter o was substituted for the capital O since using the word that changes what is in the quote to a continuation of a sentence started outside the quote.
Pinto continues, “Another [advantage] is the opportunity the children have for learning how to cope with an ever changing and complicated world due to the social and emotional complexity of their own step family environment.”
The word advantage was added to make the subject clear.
Pinto explains, “One example is the increase in available emotional support … from the larger, more extended family."
See how the ellipsis shows the omission of words.
While research essays should primarily be your own ideas and analysis of sources, sometimes, when the author’s words cannot be adequately paraphrased to convey the intended meaning, it is appropriate to include a long quote.
If you are quoting more than four lines (not sentences), you need to set the quote off from the text. Indent the quote one inch from the left margin, and do not surround the quote with quotation marks. The quote should be double spaced as with the rest of the paper.
Helen Keller, though born both deaf and blind, was no coward. This can be seen in her views on the worth of life: Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
Paraphrasing is a restatement of the sources ideas into your own words. Quotations should only be used in paraphrases when there are special words or wording that cannot be paraphrased. Because the same information that the author provided is being used, a paraphrase is often as long as the original source. Since paraphrases are information from a source, every sentence with paraphrased information must cite the source even if exact words are not quoted.
Even through a sentence with paraphrased information must cite the source, any exact words from the source must be in quotation marks. Failing to use quotation marks on exact words is plagiarism even if the sentence gives credit to the source.
Proper note-taking while doing research can help avoid plagiarism. Notes should include quotation marks around any exact words taken from sources.
Another problem students may have with paraphrasing is that the language used in the paraphrase should be an accurate accounting of the source’s ideas. Good paraphrasing doesn’t just capture the ideas of the source. They don’t include your own opinions or omit important information. Just like in a quotation, be sure to either introduce the source at the beginning of your paraphrase or cite the source at the end of the sentence so that the reader knows these are not your ideas, but ideas from your source.
Jones thinks the answer to reducing water usage is to raise water rates. OR – The answer to reducing water usage is to raise water rates (Jones).
has all the main ideas included with no new ideas added.
is different enough from the original to be your own writing.
refers directly to the original source.
“Besides, step-families offer unique advantages as well. One example is the increase in available emotional support and other resources from the larger, more extended family. Another is the opportunity the children have for learning how to cope with an ever-changing and complicated world due to the social and emotional complexity of their own step family environment” (Pinto).
Step-families have advantages too. One is that there is more emotional support when there are more people. Also, children can cope better with life if they start dealing with problems when they’re young.
Although there are many criticisms leveled against mixed families, Pinto gives some reasons for hope. First, Pinto says that blended families are often larger and can provide more “emotional support” and other aid for the children. Pinto continues by explaining that because of the emotional and social complications that arise in a blended family, children are more able to deal with the complexities of today’s changing world.
A summary is similar to a paraphrase in that you again use your own words. This time, however, not all the details are included. You must decide what the source’s main points are and condense them into a few concise sentences. For this reason, summaries are often much shorter than the original source. Summaries should not use exact quotes from the source except in those unusual situations where there is a special word or phrase that cannot be expressed in your own words.
Like all of the other methods of incorporating source information into your paper, it is important to not plagiarize, either by forgetting to quote the original if you use the same words, or by not clearly introducing the information as having come from the source.
Step-families have advantages too. One is that there is more emotional support when there are more people. And there are other resources because there are more family members. Also, children can cope better with life if they start dealing with problems when they’re young.
Pinto believes that blended families can provide more emotional support and resources and help children learn to cope more effectively in a complex world.
Since a summary contains sentences with information from a source, each sentence must cite the source if you use a summary in your research paper. However, there are times when you have an assignment in a class which asks for a summary. In that case, the instructor may not require that the source be cited in each sentence as long as it is given credit at the beginning or end and there is no question it is a summary of a source. If the assignment asks for an analysis of a particular source along with your opinion, then each sentence with information from the source must cite the source in order to distinguish it from your analysis. This is not strictly a summary since summaries contain only key ideas from the source and not your opinion or analysis.
Separation of personal feelings:.
Sometimes, it is difficult to separate our personal feelings about the content of a source when we paraphrase or summarize. It is critical to be able to objectively paraphrase and summarize. Research is not about finding sources which support your position. Research is about finding the variety of opinions on the issue, evaluating them, and then deciding what your position is. You will be reading and using information you do not agree with.
Since a summary contains sentences with information from a source, each sentence must cite the source if you use a summary in your research paper. However, there are times when you have an assignment in a class which asks for a summary. In that case, the instructor may not require that the source be cited in each sentence as long as it is given credit at the beginning or end and there is no question it is a summary of a source. If the assignment asks for an analysis of a particular source along with your opinion, then each sentence with information from the source must cite the source in order to distinguish it from your analysis. This is not strictly a summary since summaries contain only key ideas from the source and not your opinion or analysis.
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Learning objectives.
Now that you have planned your research project, you are ready to begin the research. This phase can be both exciting and challenging. As you read this section, you will learn ways to locate sources efficiently, so you have enough time to read the sources, take notes, and think about how to use the information.
Of course, the technological advances of the past few decades—particularly the rise of online media—mean that, as a twenty-first-century student, you have countless sources of information available at your fingertips. But how can you tell whether a source is reliable? This section will discuss strategies for evaluating sources critically so that you can be a media-savvy researcher.
In this section, you will locate and evaluate resources for your paper and begin taking notes. As you read, begin gathering print and electronic resources, identify at least eight to ten sources by the time you finish the chapter, and begin taking notes on your research findings.
When you chose a paper topic and determined your research questions, you conducted preliminary research to stimulate your thinking. Your research proposal included some general ideas for how to go about your research—for instance, interviewing an expert in the field or analyzing the content of popular magazines. You may even have identified a few potential sources. Now it is time to conduct a more focused, systematic search for informative primary and secondary sources.
Writers classify research resources in two categories: primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources are direct, firsthand sources of information or data. For example, if you were writing a paper about the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, the text of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights would be a primary source.
Other primary sources include the following:
Secondary sources discuss, interpret, analyze, consolidate, or otherwise rework information from primary sources. In researching a paper about the First Amendment, you might read articles about legal cases that involved First Amendment rights, or editorials expressing commentary on the First Amendment. These sources would be considered secondary sources because they are one step removed from the primary source of information.
The following are examples of secondary sources:
Your topic and purpose determine whether you must cite both primary and secondary sources in your paper. Ask yourself which sources are most likely to provide the information that will answer your research questions. If you are writing a research paper about reality television shows, you will need to use some reality shows as a primary source, but secondary sources, such as a reviewer’s critique, are also important. If you are writing about the health effects of nicotine, you will probably want to read the published results of scientific studies, but secondary sources, such as magazine articles discussing the outcome of a recent study, may also be helpful.
Once you have thought about what kinds of sources are most likely to help you answer your research questions, you may begin your search for print and electronic resources. The challenge here is to conduct your search efficiently. Writers use strategies to help them find the sources that are most relevant and reliable while steering clear of sources that will not be useful.
Print resources include a vast array of documents and publications. Regardless of your topic, you will consult some print resources as part of your research. (You will use electronic sources as well, but it is not wise to limit yourself to electronic sources only, because some potentially useful sources may be available only in print form.) Table 11.1 “Library Print Resources” lists different types of print resources available at public and university libraries.
Table 11.1 Library Print Resources
Resource Type | Description | Example(s) |
---|---|---|
Reference works | Reference works provide a summary of information about a particular topic. Almanacs, encyclopedias, atlases, medical reference books, and scientific abstracts are examples of reference works. In some cases, reference books may not be checked out of a library. Note that reference works are many steps removed from original primary sources and are often brief, so these should be used only as a starting point when you gather information. | published by the American Psychiatric Association |
Nonfiction books | Nonfiction books provide in-depth coverage of a topic. Trade books, biographies, and how-to guides are usually written for a general audience. Scholarly books and scientific studies are usually written for an audience that has specialized knowledge of a topic. | |
Periodicals and news sources | These sources are published at regular intervals—daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Newspapers, magazines, and academic journals are examples. Some periodicals provide articles on subjects of general interest, while others are more specialized. | |
Government publications | Federal, state, and local government agencies publish information on a variety of topics. Government publications include reports, legislation, court documents, public records, statistics, studies, guides, programs, and forms. | published by the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce |
Business and nonprofit publications | Businesses and nonprofit organizations produce publications designed to market a product, provide background about the organization, provide information on topics connected to the organization, or promote a cause. These publications include reports, newsletters, advertisements, manuals, brochures, and other print documents. |
Some of these resources are also widely available in electronic format. In addition to the resources noted in the table, library holdings may include primary texts such as historical documents, letters, and diaries.
Businesses, government organizations, and nonprofit organizations produce published materials that range from brief advertisements and brochures to lengthy, detailed reports. In many cases, producing these publications requires research. A corporation’s annual report may include research about economic or industry trends. A charitable organization may use information from research in materials sent to potential donors.
Regardless of the industry you work in, you may be asked to assist in developing materials for publication. Often, incorporating research in these documents can make them more effective in informing or persuading readers.
As you gather information, strive for a balance of accessible, easy-to-read sources and more specialized, challenging sources. Relying solely on lightweight books and articles written for a general audience will drastically limit the range of useful, substantial information. On the other hand, restricting oneself to dense, scholarly works could make the process of researching extremely time-consuming and frustrating.
Make a list of five types of print resources you could use to find information about your research topic. Include at least one primary source. Be as specific as possible—if you have a particular resource or type of resource in mind, describe it.
To find print resources efficiently, first identify the major concepts and terms you will use to conduct your search—that is, your keywords . These, along with the research questions you identified in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , Section 11.2 “Steps in Developing a Research Proposal” , will help you find sources using any of the following methods:
You probably already have some keywords in mind based on your preliminary research and writing. Another way to identify useful keywords is to visit the Library of Congress’s website at http://id.loc.gov/authorities . This site allows you to search for a topic and see the related subject headings used by the Library of Congress, including broader terms, narrower terms, and related terms. Other libraries use these terms to classify materials. Knowing the most-used terms will help you speed up your keyword search.
Jorge used the Library of Congress site to identify general terms he could use to find resources about low-carb dieting. His search helped him identify potentially useful keywords and related topics, such as carbohydrates in human nutrition, glycemic index, and carbohydrates—metabolism. These terms helped Jorge refine his search.
Knowing the right keywords can sometimes make all the difference in conducting a successful search. If you have trouble finding sources on a topic, consult a librarian to see whether you need to modify your search terms.
Visit the Library of Congress’s website at http://id.loc.gov/authorities and conduct searches on a few terms related to your topic.
Library catalogs can help you locate book-length sources, as well as some types of nonprint holdings, such as CDs, DVDs, and audio books. To locate shorter sources, such as magazine and journal articles, you will need to use a periodical index or an online periodical database . These tools index the articles that appear in newspapers, magazines, and journals. Like catalogs, they provide publication information about an article and often allow users to access a summary or even the full text of the article.
Print indexes may be available in the periodicals section of your library. Increasingly, libraries use online databases that users can access through the library website. A single library may provide access to multiple periodical databases. These can range from general news databases to specialized databases. Table 11.2 “Commonly Used Indexes and Databases” describes some commonly used indexes and databases.
Table 11.2 Commonly Used Indexes and Databases
Resource | Format | Contents |
---|---|---|
Guide to articles published in the | ||
ProQuest | Online | Database that archives content from newspapers, magazines, and dissertations |
Psychlit, PsycINFO | Online | Databases that archive content from journals in psychology and psychiatry |
Business Source Complete | Online | Database that archives business-related content from magazines and journals |
MEDLINE, PubMed | Online | Databases that archive articles in medicine and health |
EBSCOhost | Online | General database that provides access to articles on a wide variety of topics |
When you search for periodicals, be sure to distinguish among different types. Mass-market publications, such as newspapers and popular magazines, differ from scholarly publications in their accessibility, audience, and purpose.
Newspapers and magazines are written for a broader audience than scholarly journals. Their content is usually quite accessible and easy to read. Trade magazines that target readers within a particular industry may presume the reader has background knowledge, but these publications are still reader-friendly for a broader audience. Their purpose is to inform and, often, to entertain or persuade readers as well.
Scholarly or academic journals are written for a much smaller and more expert audience. The creators of these publications assume that most of their readers are already familiar with the main topic of the journal. The target audience is also highly educated. Informing is the primary purpose of a scholarly journal. While a journal article may advance an agenda or advocate a position, the content will still be presented in an objective style and formal tone. Entertaining readers with breezy comments and splashy graphics is not a priority.
Because of these differences, scholarly journals are more challenging to read. That doesn’t mean you should avoid them. On the contrary, they can provide in-depth information unavailable elsewhere. Because knowledgeable professionals carefully review the content before publication, scholarly journals are far more reliable than much of the information available in popular media. Seek out academic journals along with other resources. Just be prepared to spend a little more time processing the information.
Periodicals databases are not just for students writing research papers. They also provide a valuable service to workers in various fields. The owner of a small business might use a database such as Business Source Premiere to find articles on management, finance, or trends within a particular industry. Health care professionals might consult databases such as MedLine to research a particular disease or medication. Regardless of what career path you plan to pursue, periodicals databases can be a useful tool for researching specific topics and identifying periodicals that will help you keep up with the latest news in your industry.
Sifting through library stacks and database search results to find the information you need can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. If you are not sure how you should begin your search, or if it is yielding too many or too few results, you are not alone. Many students find this process challenging, although it does get easier with experience. One way to learn better search strategies is to consult a reference librarian.
Reference librarians are intimately familiar with the systems libraries use to organize and classify information. They can help you locate a particular book in the library stacks, steer you toward useful reference works, and provide tips on how to use databases and other electronic research tools. Take the time to see what resources you can find on your own, but if you encounter difficulties, ask for help. Many university librarians hold virtual office hours and are available for online chatting.
Visit your library’s website or consult with a reference librarian to determine what periodicals indexes or databases would be useful for your research. Depending on your topic, you may rely on a general news index, a specialized index for a particular subject area, or both. Search the catalog for your topic and related keywords. Print out or bookmark your search results.
One way to refine your keyword search is to use Boolean operators. These operators allow you to combine keywords, find variations on a word, and otherwise expand or limit your results. Here are some of the ways you can use Boolean operators:
With the expansion of technology and media over the past few decades, a wealth of information is available to you in electronic format. Some types of resources, such as a television documentary, may only be available electronically. Other resources—for instance, many newspapers and magazines—may be available in both print and electronic form. The following are some of the electronic sources you might consult:
The techniques you use to locate print resources can also help you find electronic resources efficiently. Libraries usually include CD-ROMs, audio books, and audio and video recordings among their holdings. You can locate these materials in the catalog using a keyword search. The same Boolean operators used to refine database searches can help you filter your results in popular search engines.
When faced with the challenge of writing a research paper, some students rely on popular search engines as their first source of information. Typing a keyword or phrase into a search engine instantly pulls up links to dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of related websites—what could be easier? Unfortunately, despite its apparent convenience, this research strategy has the following drawbacks to consider:
A general web search can provide a helpful overview of a topic and may pull up genuinely useful resources. To get the most out of a search engine, however, use strategies to make your search more efficient. Use multiple keywords and Boolean operators to limit your results. Click on the Advanced Search link on the homepage to find additional options for streamlining your search. Depending on the specific search engine you use, the following options may be available:
Use the Bookmarks or Favorites feature of your web browser to save and organize sites that look promising.
With so many print and electronic media readily available, it is easy to overlook another valuable information resource: other people. Consider whether you could use a person or group as a primary source. For instance, you might interview a professor who has expertise in a particular subject, a worker within a particular industry, or a representative from a political organization. Interviews can be a great way to get firsthand information.
To get the most out of an interview, you will need to plan ahead. Contact your subject early in the research process and explain your purpose for requesting an interview. Prepare detailed questions. Open-ended questions, rather than questions with simple yes-or-no answers, are more likely to lead to an in-depth discussion. Schedule a time to meet, and be sure to obtain your subject’s permission to record the interview. Take careful notes and be ready to ask follow-up questions based on what you learn.
If scheduling an in-person meeting is difficult, consider arranging a telephone interview or asking your subject to respond to your questions via e-mail. Recognize that any of these formats takes time and effort. Be prompt and courteous, avoid going over the allotted interview time, and be flexible if your subject needs to reschedule.
As you gather sources, you will need to examine them with a critical eye. Smart researchers continually ask themselves two questions: “Is this source relevant to my purpose?” and “Is this source reliable?” The first question will help you avoid wasting valuable time reading sources that stray too far from your specific topic and research questions. The second question will help you find accurate, trustworthy sources.
At this point in your research process, you may have identified dozens of potential sources. It is easy for writers to get so caught up in checking out books and printing out articles that they forget to ask themselves how they will use these resources in their research. Now is a good time to get a little ruthless. Reading and taking notes takes time and energy, so you will want to focus on the most relevant sources.
To weed through your stack of books and articles, skim their contents. Read quickly with your research questions and subtopics in mind. Table 11.3 “Tips for Skimming Books and Articles” explains how to skim to get a quick sense of what topics are covered. If a book or article is not especially relevant, put it aside. You can always come back to it later if you need to.
Table 11.3 Tips for Skimming Books and Articles
Tips for Skimming Books | Tips for Skimming Articles |
---|---|
All information sources are not created equal. Sources can vary greatly in terms of how carefully they are researched, written, edited, and reviewed for accuracy. Common sense will help you identify obviously questionable sources, such as tabloids that feature tales of alien abductions, or personal websites with glaring typos. Sometimes, however, a source’s reliability—or lack of it—is not so obvious. For more information about source reliability, see Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” .
To evaluate your research sources, you will use critical thinking skills consciously and deliberately. You will consider criteria such as the type of source, its intended purpose and audience, the author’s (or authors’) qualifications, the publication’s reputation, any indications of bias or hidden agendas, how current the source is, and the overall quality of the writing, thinking, and design.
The different types of sources you will consult are written for distinct purposes and with different audiences in mind. This accounts for other differences, such as the following:
A journal article written for an academic audience for the purpose of expanding scholarship in a given field will take an approach quite different from a magazine feature written to inform a general audience. Textbooks, hard news articles, and websites approach a subject from different angles as well. To some extent, the type of source provides clues about its overall depth and reliability. Table 11.4 “Source Rankings” ranks different source types.
Table 11.4 Source Rankings
These sources provide the most in-depth information. They are researched and written by subject matter experts and are carefully reviewed. | or |
These sources are often useful. However, they do not cover subjects in as much depth as high-quality sources, and they are not always rigorously researched and reviewed. Some, such as popular magazine articles or company brochures, may be written to market a product or a cause. Use them with caution. | or the Public Broadcasting Service |
These sources should be avoided. They are often written primarily to attract a large readership or present the author’s opinions and are not subject to careful review. |
Free online encyclopedias and wikis may seem like a great source of information. They usually appear among the first few results of a web search. They cover thousands of topics, and many articles use an informal, straightforward writing style. Unfortunately, these sites have no control system for researching, writing, and reviewing articles. Instead, they rely on a community of users to police themselves. At best, these sites can be a starting point for finding other, more trustworthy sources. Never use them as final sources.
Even when you are using a type of source that is generally reliable, you will still need to evaluate the author’s credibility and the publication itself on an individual basis. To examine the author’s credibility —that is, how much you can believe of what the author has to say—examine his or her credentials. What career experience or academic study shows that the author has the expertise to write about this topic?
Keep in mind that expertise in one field is no guarantee of expertise in another, unrelated area. For instance, an author may have an advanced degree in physiology, but this credential is not a valid qualification for writing about psychology. Check credentials carefully.
Just as important as the author’s credibility is the publication’s overall reputability. Reputability refers to a source’s standing and reputation as a respectable, reliable source of information. An established and well-known newspaper, such as the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal , is more reputable than a college newspaper put out by comparatively inexperienced students. A website that is maintained by a well-known, respected organization and regularly updated is more reputable than one created by an unknown author or group.
If you are using articles from scholarly journals, you can check databases that keep count of how many times each article has been cited in other articles. This can be a rough indication of the article’s quality or, at the very least, of its influence and reputation among other scholars.
Whenever you consult a source, always think carefully about the author’s or authors’ purpose in presenting the information. Few sources present facts completely objectively. In some cases, the source’s content and tone are significantly influenced by biases or hidden agendas.
Bias refers to favoritism or prejudice toward a particular person or group. For instance, an author may be biased against a certain political party and present information in a way that subtly—or not so subtly—makes that organization look bad. Bias can lead an author to present facts selectively, edit quotations to misrepresent someone’s words, and distort information.
Hidden agendas are goals that are not immediately obvious but influence how an author presents the facts. For instance, an article about the role of beef in a healthy diet would be questionable if it were written by a representative of the beef industry—or by the president of an animal-rights organization. In both cases, the author would likely have a hidden agenda.
As Jorge conducted his research, he read several research studies in which scientists found significant benefits to following a low-carbohydrate diet. He also noticed that many studies were sponsored by a foundation associated with the author of a popular series of low-carbohydrate diet books. Jorge read these studies with a critical eye, knowing that a hidden agenda might be shaping the researchers’ conclusions.
Be sure to seek out sources that are current, or up to date. Depending on the topic, sources may become outdated relatively soon after publication, or they may remain useful for years. For instance, online social networking sites have evolved rapidly over the past few years. An article published in 2002 about this topic will not provide current information. On the other hand, a research paper on elementary education practices might refer to studies published decades ago by influential child psychologists.
When using websites for research, check to see when the site was last updated. Many sites publish this information on the homepage, and some, such as news sites, are updated daily or weekly. Many nonfunctioning links are a sign that a website is not regularly updated. Do not be afraid to ask your professor for suggestions if you find that many of your most relevant sources are not especially reliable—or that the most reliable sources are not relevant.
When you evaluate a source, you will consider the criteria previously discussed as well as your overall impressions of its quality. Read carefully, and notice how well the author presents and supports his or her statements. Stay actively engaged—do not simply accept an author’s words as truth. Ask questions to determine each source’s value. Checklist 11.1 lists ten questions to ask yourself as a critical reader.
Source Evaluation
The critical thinking skills you use to evaluate research sources as a student are equally valuable when you conduct research on the job. If you follow certain periodicals or websites, you have probably identified publications that consistently provide reliable information. Reading blogs and online discussion groups is a great way to identify new trends and hot topics in a particular field, but these sources should not be used for substantial research.
Use a search engine to conduct a web search on your topic. Refer to the tips provided earlier to help you streamline your search. Evaluate your search results critically based on the criteria you have learned. Identify and bookmark one or more websites that are reliable, reputable, and likely to be useful in your research.
As you determine which sources you will rely on most, it is important to establish a system for keeping track of your sources and taking notes. There are several ways to go about it, and no one system is necessarily superior. What matters is that you keep materials in order; record bibliographical information you will need later; and take detailed, organized notes.
Think ahead to a moment a few weeks from now, when you’ve written your research paper and are almost ready to submit it for a grade. There is just one task left—writing your list of sources.
As you begin typing your list, you realize you need to include the publication information for a book you cited frequently. Unfortunately, you already returned it to the library several days ago. You do not remember the URLs for some of the websites you used or the dates you accessed them—information that also must be included in your bibliography. With a sinking feeling, you realize that finding this information and preparing your bibliography will require hours of work.
This stressful scenario can be avoided. Taking time to organize source information now will ensure that you are not scrambling to find it at the last minute. Throughout your research, record bibliographical information for each source as soon as you begin using it. You may use pen-and-paper methods, such as a notebook or note cards, or maintain an electronic list. (If you prefer the latter option, many office software packages include separate programs for recording bibliographic information.)
Table 11.5 “Details for Commonly Used Source Types” shows the specific details you should record for commonly used source types. Use these details to develop a working bibliography —a preliminary list of sources that you will later use to develop the references section of your paper. You may wish to record information using the formatting system of the American Psychological Association (APA) or the Modern Language Association (MLA), which will save a step later on. (For more information on APA and MLA formatting, see Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” .)
Table 11.5 Details for Commonly Used Source Types
Source Type | Necessary Information |
---|---|
Book | Author(s), title and subtitle, publisher, city of publication, year of publication |
Essay or article published in a book | Include all the information you would for any other book. Additionally, record the essay’s or article’s title, author(s), the pages on which it appears, and the name of the book’s editor(s). |
Periodical | Author(s), article title, publication title, date of publication, volume and issue number, and page numbers |
Online source | Author(s) (if available), article or document title, organization that sponsors the site, database name (if applicable), date of publication, date you accessed the site, and URL |
Interview | Name of person interviewed, method of communication, date of interview |
Your research may involve less common types of sources not listed in Table 11.5 “Details for Commonly Used Source Types” . For additional information on citing different sources, see Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” .
Create a working bibliography using the format that is most convenient for you. List at least five sources you plan to use. Continue to add sources to your working bibliography throughout the research process.
To make your working bibliography even more complete, you may wish to record additional details, such as a book’s call number or contact information for a person you interviewed. That way, if you need to locate a source again, you have all the information you need right at your fingertips. You may also wish to assign each source a code number to use when taking notes (1, 2, 3, or a similar system).
Good researchers stay focused and organized as they gather information from sources. Before you begin taking notes, take a moment to step back and think about your goal as a researcher—to find information that will help you answer your research question. When you write your paper, you will present your conclusions about the topic supported by research. That goal will determine what information you record and how you organize it.
Writers sometimes get caught up in taking extensive notes, so much so that they lose sight of how their notes relate to the questions and ideas they started out with. Remember that you do not need to write down every detail from your reading. Focus on finding and recording details that will help you answer your research questions. The following strategies will help you take notes efficiently.
Whether you use old-fashioned index cards or organize your notes using word-processing software, record just one major point from each source at a time, and use a heading to summarize the information covered. Keep all your notes in one file, digital or otherwise. Doing so will help you identify connections among different pieces of information. It will also help you make connections between your notes and the research questions and subtopics you identified earlier.
Your notes will fall under three categories—summary notes, paraphrased information, and direct quotations from your sources. Effective researchers make choices about which type of notes is most appropriate for their purpose.
Most of your notes should be paraphrased from the original source. Paraphrasing as you take notes is usually a better strategy than copying direct quotations, because it forces you to think through the information in your source and understand it well enough to restate it. In short, it helps you stay engaged with the material instead of simply copying and pasting. Synthesizing will help you later when you begin planning and drafting your paper. (For detailed guidelines on summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting, see Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , Section 11.6 “Writing from Research: End-of-Chapter Exercises” .)
Regardless of the format used, any notes you take should include enough information to help you organize ideas and locate them instantly in the original text if you need to review them. Make sure your notes include the following elements:
Throughout the process of taking notes, be scrupulous about making sure you have correctly attributed each idea to its source. Always include source information so you know exactly which ideas came from which sources. Use quotation marks to set off any words for phrases taken directly from the original text. If you add your own responses and ideas, make sure they are distinct from ideas you quoted or paraphrased.
Finally, make sure your notes accurately reflect the content of the original text. Make sure quoted material is copied verbatim. If you omit words from a quotation, use ellipses to show the omission and make sure the omission does not change the author’s meaning. Paraphrase ideas carefully, and check your paraphrased notes against the original text to make sure that you have restated the author’s ideas accurately in your own words.
There are several formats you can use to take notes. No technique is necessarily better than the others—it is more important to choose a format you are comfortable using. Choosing the format that works best for you will ensure your notes are organized, complete, and accurate. Consider implementing one of these formats when you begin taking notes:
Choose one of the methods from the list to use for taking notes. Continue gathering sources and taking notes. In the next section, you will learn strategies for organizing and synthesizing the information you have found.
Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Learning how to evaluate sources can save valuable time in the research process and increase the effectiveness of your papers. This guide introduces you to the things experienced researchers consider when evaluating their sources.
Understanding the purpose and audience of a source will help determine its usefulness for your research project. A general reference source in a library serves a much different purpose than an editorial in a newspaper, an advertisement in a magazine, or a website providing information about a product or service.
Similarly, sources targeting an audience of experts in a particular field contain different kinds of information than those written for a general audience.
Those written for technical experts assume an audience with a great deal of background knowledge. Typically, these sources skip general treatments of a topic in favor of detailed discussions tailored to experts.
In contrast, sources written for general audiences provide background information for their readers.
Writers use sources for a variety of purposes: to support a point, to illustrate a range of positions on an issue and to show that they are not alone in their opinions, to name a few. With rare exceptions (such as when you are illustrating divergent opinions), the authors you cite should be reliable and trustworthy. Prioritizing peer-reviewed sources when conducting research is a good way to ensure credibility.
A Note on Field Sources: When conducting field research, you are actually selecting the sources (or "authors") of your information. In the case of an interview, for example, a selected "authority" provides you with specific data and informed opinions on your subject. Similarly, in a study or questionnaire a group of people act as the source/author within a particular setting or environment that you intend to observe.
Similarly, but in a more general sense, you select a group of people to which you intend to distribute a questionnaire or a particular setting or environment that you intend to observe.
Check the library catalog also to see if the author you are considering is listed in any specialized reference works such as Who's Who, Contemporary Authors or American Men and Women of Science .
Inclusion in reference works such as these does not necessarily guarantee their trustworthiness, but it will provide you with a more informed idea of the author's background.
When your source is a weekly newsmagazine like Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News & World Report, the author is likely to be a reporter. Though weekly news magazines do occasionally feature articles by experts, and all have solid reputations for careful fact-checking and presenting fair ranges of opinion, be aware that the opinions of editors may be present as well.
When obtaining information from certain online sources, it may be difficult to find and evaluate the author's credentials. If they are not provided, consider emailing the author with a formal inquiry.
When in doubt, carefully consider whether using a particular author's information is worthwhile. Weigh the pros and cons. Ultimately, the best measure of someone's authority is whether their work meets the standards and critical demands of other recognized authorities. Ask your instructor and other knowledgeable experts on campus what they know about the author.
Expect differences in opinion among leaders of various political parties or types of organizations. An editorial about preserving wetlands written by the president of the Sierra Club will be a lot different than one written by a lobbyist for a real estate organization.
Although it's rare to find a complete listing of an author's affiliations, many periodicals, both in print and online, provide brief descriptions of an article or column's author. Check these descriptions for clues about an author's affiliations.
If you are interested in learning more about them, consider searching online. Many authors have personal homepages on which they list information about themselves, their educational background, professional experience, and personal interests.
Every author holds opinions that affect his or her discussion of an issue, opinions that you as a reader must try to recognize and understand. Even the most seemingly factual report, such as an encyclopedia article, can carry an understated or implied judgment. Such judgments reflect an author's bias or preference for one side of an issue over another.
As you evaluate a source, consider whether the author's bias affects his or her presentation of information and opinions. Ask whether this results in one side of an issue being treated more favorably than another. To explore an author's biases, you must ask where his or her allegiances lie. Is the bias hidden or stated? Ask yourself if you need to look for a balancing viewpoint or approach?
Just because an author has a strong bias does not mean that he or she has written something invalid. Accurate data is accurate data. However, in the interest of being prepared to fend off attacks from those who want to challenge your analysis or argument, it is best if you recognize early on what biases an author might hold.
When an author's identity is withheld, as is occasionally the case with newspaper articles and elsewhere online, try to identify the sponsoring company or publisher and proceed from there. An organization can be examined for quality and credibility, just like an individual author.
If you're working with a print source that does not list an author, consider the nature of the publication: is it a nationally respected newspaper or a supermarket tabloid? Is it a brochure or pamphlet published by an organization recognized as a leader in its field? Bias and factuality will vary based on both the nature of the publication and the organization behind it.
As you evaluate a source, consider its publisher. The person, organization, government agency, or corporation that prints or electronically distributes a source plays an important role in shaping its content. Like authors, publishers usually have a bias about a particular topic or issue.
A corporate publisher, such as Microsoft, will present its own products and services more favorably than those of its competitors because the main goal of a corporation is always to make profits. Similarly, political organizations, such as the Democratic Party or the National Rifle Association, will publish sources that contain information in support of policies favored by their respective organization.
Information gathered online and from periodicals are most likely to reflect a publisher's bias.
To learn more about the publisher of a website, try to locate its disclaimers. Look for their "site information" or "about" links and examine them carefully. If you are visiting a website sponsored by an organization or agency, find out where their mission statement is located and examine it carefully as well.
Of course, there are a multitude of different kinds of websites online including social media, forums, news sites, and so many others. You should adjust your criteria for evaluating a website based on what its intended use and audience are.
Here are some questions you might ask when evaluating a website:
To learn more about the publisher of a periodical, take a moment to skim through it and note the following:
As a researcher, you may find that your sources are published in a variety of mediums; for instance, print sources, electronic sources, and field sources.
It's very important that the information and evidence you are planning on presenting come from sources that are as reliable, up-to-date and relevant as possible.
Information regarding the most recent discoveries, technical advances and developments in all fields of endeavor are published on a regular basis and you should include them in your research.
If you cite twenty-year-old sources regarding procedures for treating AIDS, for instance, your research would not include the latest findings and treatments in that field. Your information would be dated and not necessarily valid.
When using older materials, do so when their value has held up over time or your research paper specifically calls for the inclusion of an historical perspective.
Some sources are considered to be general; that is, they are written for a general-interest audience. Newspapers and popular magazines typically provide general information about a topic or issue. In contrast, highly specialized publications are written for specific, specialized audiences such as microbiologists, mortgage bankers, or auto mechanics.
General sources can be helpful as you begin your research, but as your project develops you may need the deeper authority of specialized sources to provide the latest information on your topic. Keep in mind when using extremely specialized works that you may get people in over their heads. Be sure to explain information that your audience needs to understand if they are to grasp the conclusions you arrive at in your paper.
For some papers it may be appropriate to cite an article in a popular magazine, and for others it may be necessary to cite the research findings published in the scholarly journal on which the magazine article was based. So, why use one source over another?
You must consider what role the source will play in your paper. Ask yourself, is the information it contains useful for your purposes as a writer? Does the source contain strong quotations or hard facts that would be effective in your final paper? Is it relevant, in terms of the subject matter and in the way it tackles it?
Remember, what you're looking for is the best possible sources for your particular paper. Ask yourself not only "Will this do?" but "Will something else be better?"
Consider, as well, how using this source in your paper will affect the future direction of your research. Does it contain information that challenges your assumptions about the topic? Does it present any strong evidence against your position that you must then counter or refute with opposing evidence?
Does it suggest a new direction that might be more interesting? Your research project will probably grow and change as you learn more about it. It's wise to check in with yourself now and again to make sure you have a clear direction and if it's the same as you began with, or completely new.
Finally, consider whether a source is directly relevant to your research question. It's surprisingly easy to get sidetracked by a persuasive book, article, or website on a topic that is only slightly connected to the direction of your research.
A primary source is a firsthand account written by an eyewitness or a participant. It contains raw data and immediate impressions. For example, primary sources for a large fire caused by a gas leak would include the statements of victims and witnesses, the article written by a journalist who was at the scene, and the report of the fire chief in charge of putting out the blaze.
A secondary source is an analysis of the information contained in one or more primary sources. For example, a second journalist, using the article on the large fire and gas leak as background for a story on industrial accidents, or a historian using the same for a book on urban life in the twentieth century are secondary sources.
For most research papers, both primary and secondary sources will be used. Secondary sources are no less trustworthy than firsthand reports. Remember, eyewitnesses can be prejudiced, self-serving, or simply less informed than a later writer who has synthesized many eyewitness accounts.
In writing a history paper on the attitudes of American social workers toward World War I, you might quote a primary source: Jane Addams, founder of Chicago's Hull House, who was a pacifist. If you relied only on Addams' words alone, however, your reader might get the idea that social workers were unanimously opposed to the war effort. To put Addams' views into perspective, you'd also want to include secondary sources, showing that most of her peers did not identify with pacifism and publicly disagreed with her.
When you find yourself repeatedly citing a fact or source, as quoted in someone else's analysis, it might be wise to go to the primary source from which it came. For example, statistics are often used by both sides arguing an issue-often it's only the interpretation that differs. You might find it useful to go back to the original research (the publication of which is a primary source) and learn where the facts end and the interpretation begins.
The evidence provided by a source (its information, opinions, and ideas) will tell you a great deal about its reliability and usefulness. As you evaluate a source, consider whether the evidence is carefully put together, complete and up to date.
Consider the thesis, if any, and whether it is supported or defended by the presentation of credible evidence. Ask whether the argument or analysis is convincing. If the source seems slipshod, or leaves several important questions unanswered, you might do better to look for another source.
To evaluate the evidence in a source, ask yourself the following questions:
Working with Field Sources: When working in the field, ask similar questions to those already mentioned regarding the evidence provided and the credibility of its sources. Ask yourself:
Chamberlain University Press - ' Evaluating Sources '
John Hopkins: Sheridan Libraries - ‘ Evaluating Information ’
Purdue OWL - ‘ Evaluating Digital Sources ’
Purdue OWL - ‘ Evaluating Sources: General Guidelines ’
University of Maryland Libraries - ‘ Evaluating Websites ’
USC Libraries - ‘ Evaluating Sources ’
Palmquist, Mike, Peter Connor & Andrea Bennett. (2022). Evaluating Sources. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=15
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IMAGES
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Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Original research reports and critical essays are most likely to be found in: Trade journals. Scholarly journals. Websites. Popular press publications., Scholarly journal articles count as primary sources. true false, Both research reports and critical essays contain an abstract and list references. true false and more.
You can use this to find the issue of the journal where the research was published, and look at the table of contents to find the original article. The report will often name the researchers involved. You can search relevant databases for their name and the topic of the report to find the original research that way.
Sections of an Original Research Article. Original research articles make up most of the peer-reviewed literature , follow a standardized format, and are the focus of this article. The 4 main sections are the introduction, methods, results, and discussion, sometimes referred to by the initialism, IMRAD.
The tone of a report based on original research will be objective and formal, and the writing should be concise and direct. The structure will likely consist of these standard sections: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion . Typically, authors identify these sections with headings and may use subheadings to identify ...
They are usually fairly lengthy - most likely at least 7-10 pages The authors and their credentials should be identified, at least the company or university where the author is employed There is usually a list of References or Works Cited at the end of the paper, listing the sources that the authors used in their research
Other tips to help you with the Results section: . If you need to cite the number in the text (not just in the table), and the total in the group is less than 50, do not include percentage. Write "7 of 34," not "7 (21%).". . Do not forget, if you have multiple comparisons, you probably need adjustment.
Scientific Papers. Scientific papers are for sharing your own original research work with other scientists or for reviewing the research conducted by others. As such, they are critical to the ...
Most research essays attempt to argue a point about the material, information, and data that you have collected. That research can come from fieldwork, laboratories, archives, interviews, data mining, or just a lot of reading. No matter the sources you use, the thesis of a research essay is grounded in evidence that is compelling to the reader.
Journals provide guidelines to authors which should be followed closely. The three major types of articles (original research, case reports, and review articles) all generally follow the IMRAD format with slight variations in content. With planning and thought, manuscript writing does not have to be a daunting task. Download chapter PDF.
Learning Outcomes. By the end of this section, you will be able to: Locate and evaluate primary and secondary research materials, including journal articles and essays, books, scholarly and professionally established and maintained databases or archives, and informal electronic networks and Internet sources.
I then switch over to Krause's OER for my English Composition II course. At Rogue Community College, Writing 122 emphasizes intermediate essay writing and analytical, more rigorous and original research-based essays involving critical thinking. I completely reordered the chapters as described above to fit into my course design.
The term primary source is used broadly to embody all sources that are original. Primary sources provide first-hand information that is closest to the object of study. Primary sources vary by discipline. In the natural and social sciences, original reports of research found in academic journals detailing the methodology used in the research, in ...
The research question is critical since all of the content of the research essay follows from the question. Primary and Secondary Sources. A primary source is where the author is presenting his or her own information either based on professional knowledge or research. This is the best type of source to use when conducting research.
Information can be found in an incredibly wide variety of types, formats, and styles. This can include anything created from other people, to text, to video, and everything found in between. ... articles detailing an original study, case notes or report forms, clinical exams, experimental protocols, industrial drawings, raw data or results, etc ...
You will need a way to put your thoughts together in a logical, coherent manner. You may want to use the facts you have learned to create a narrative or to support an argument. And you may want to show the results of your research to your friends, your teachers, or even the editors of magazines and journals. Writing a research paper is an ideal ...
Ask yourself which sources are most likely to provide the information that will answer your research questions. If you are writing a research paper about reality television shows, you will need to use some reality shows as a primary source, but secondary sources, such as a reviewer's critique, are also important.
A primary source is most often created during the time the events you are studying occurred, such as newspaper articles from the period, correspondence, diplomatic records, original research reports and notes, diaries etc. They may also include items created after the events occurred, but that recount them such as autobiographies and oral ...
Letters or short reports. Method article. Posters and slides. Registered report. Research article. Review article. Software tool articles. In scholarly literature, there are many different kinds of articles published every year. Original research articles are often the first thing you think of when you hear the words 'journal article'.
8.1 Information and Critical Thinking; 8.2 Analytical Report Trailblazer: Barbara Ehrenreich; ... Like Lily Tran's research log entry, most entries have three parts: a part for notes on secondary sources, a part for connections to the thesis or main points, and a part for your own notes or questions. ... keep in mind that the research is ...
Synthesizing Information from Sources. Research papers, also known as research essays, must include information from sources. This is called synthesizing or integrating your sources. There are three ways to incorporate information from other sources into your paper: quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Good research papers should include at ...
Identify strategies for locating relevant print and electronic resources efficiently. Identify instances when it is appropriate to use human sources, such as interviews or eyewitness testimony. Identify criteria for evaluating research resources. Understand why many electronic resources are not reliable. Now that you have planned your research ...
For most research papers, both primary and secondary sources will be used. Secondary sources are no less trustworthy than firsthand reports. Remember, eyewitnesses can be prejudiced, self-serving, or simply less informed than a later writer who has synthesized many eyewitness accounts.
Evaluate the credibility of a research article, Which answer is an example of an organization using analytics? ... A survey research report presented at the 2018 National Communication Association meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. ... Original research reports and critical essays are most likely to be found in: Popular press publications. Trade ...
Russia is likely to be the most active foreign power seeking to influence the presidential election, though China and Iran have also stepped up their efforts, Mr. Himes said.