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Library Guides Higher Education Reading And Evaluating Scholarly Sourc

Leo Migdal
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library guides higher education reading and evaluating scholarly sourc

Reading research can be a challenge. However, the tutorials and videos below can help. They explain what scholarly articles look like, how to read them, and how to evaluate them: In some classes, your professor will expect you to use "primary research" or "empirical" articles. For tips on finding them in Penn State databases, see our cheat sheet. In the Social Sciences and Education, primary/empirical research is based on observed and measured phenomena and derives knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief.

How do you know if a study is empirical? Read the subheadings within the article, book, or report and look for a description of the research "methodology." Ask yourself: Could I recreate this study and test these results? Another hint: some scholarly journals use a specific layout, called the "IMRaD" format, to communicate empirical research findings. Such articles typically have 4 components: Identifying basic information about how sources are created and what makes them authoritative can help you select the ones best suited to your research project. What parts of your topic you still need to learn more about?

Because they are written by and for experts, scholarly articles are often challenging to read. Recognizing their common features and looking for the relationships among sources can help you to understand them and to decide whether they will be good sources for your project. After you have explored some search results using the previous activity, choose one article and use the following questions to guide your initial reading. If this article doesn't seem useful after your initial reading, move on to a different one. If you aren't finding any useful sources, you may need to adjust your topic in response to what you're learning about the existing research. Research papers generally follow a specific format.

Here are the different parts of the scholarly article. The abstract, generally written by the author(s) of the article, provides a concise summary of the whole article. Usually it highlights the focus, study results and conclusion(s) of the article. In this section, the authors introduce their topic, explain the purpose of the study, and present why it is important, unique or how it adds to existing knowledge in their field. Look for the author's hypothesis or thesis here. Introduction - Literature Review (Who else)

Many scholarly articles include a summary of previous research or discussions published on this topic, called a "Literature Review". This section outlines what others have found and what questions still remain. Thinking critically about the validity and reliability of a research resource generally involves asking yourself a series of questions about the quality of both the item and the content of that item. While research that has gone through a peer-review process is generally considered more high quality, or credible, many academic/scholarly resources have also been criticized for gate keeping and perpetuating heteronormative, western, white, or male-centric... When evaluating sources, consider whether there are any perspectives or voices missing? If the answer is yes, how could you layer or expand your research to search resources that are more non-traditional in addition to the scholarly resources?

Some questions to ask when critically evaluating sources: There isn't a checklist that determines if information is credible, trustworthy, or even appropriate for your research. Start with asking questions to determine how well a source fits your needs. Remember that the information needs to be situated in the context of your inquiry research question. Reminder: Always review the assignment for any source requirements. Source evaluation is multi-layered and includes several strategies to build a complete picture about the source.

Learn more about how to explore a source, find trusted coverage, and trace claims to the original source in the Evaluating Online Information library guide. The Evaluating Sources for Credibility video (3:22 minutes) introduces the concept of evaluating information to determine a source's credibility. Scholarly (also called academic) articles are very different from news, magazine, and trade articles. The Anatomy of a Scholarly Article video (3:12 minutes) provides strategies for reading scholary articles. The Reading Scholarly Articles handouts (Word file links) illustrate the structure of a scholarly article within different disciplines. If you decide the article you've found is relevant to your research question then carefully read each section of the article and take notes.

This guide is intended to help you find appropriate materials for your research by evaluating the sources you find online and through the library. This guide also includes information on what peer-reviewed materials are and how to find them, unique criteria necessary for evaluating websites, examples and tutorials, and more. Use the blue buttons on the left to navigate through the guide and find what you need. Ask the Shapiro Library (ask@snhu.libanswers.com) if you need additional assistance! Still can't find the answer to your question? Browse all our FAQs!

Reading research can be a challenge. However, the tutorials and videos below can help. They explain what scholarly articles look like, how to read them, and how to evaluate them: In some classes, your professor will expect you to use "primary research" or "empirical" articles. For tips on finding them in Penn State databases, see our cheat sheet. In the Social Sciences and Education, primary/empirical research is based on observed and measured phenomena and derives knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief.

How do you know if a study is empirical? Read the subheadings within the article, book, or report and look for a description of the research "methodology." Ask yourself: Could I recreate this study and test these results? Another hint: some scholarly journals use a specific layout, called the "IMRaD" format, to communicate empirical research findings. Such articles typically have 4 components: Watch these Niche Academy video tutorials to assist you in finding and selecting relevant resources: Use these documents to further assist you in selecting relevant resources:

Practice evaluating Web sites using the Evaluating Resources Checklist in the left-side column. Which of these sites do you think would be useful for academic research? This page will focus on reading scholarly articles — published reports on original research in the social sciences, humanities, and STEM fields. Reading and understanding this type of article can be challenging. This guide will help you develop these skills, which can be learned and improved upon with practice. There are many different types of articles that may be found in scholarly journals and other academic publications.

For more, see: Describes who is responsible for this work. May be one person, a group, or an institution. Make note of authors and institutions you see repeatedly during your search process. Describe the content in quick words or phrases. Help you place the work in context with other literature.

Good for quick reference! P laces the research in context with prior work. Analyzes important contributions that the author(s) believe are relevant and that the article builds upon to create new knowledge. Sometimes includes a theoretical framework. A good place to look to find additional sources for your research!

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How do you know if a study is empirical? Read the subheadings within the article, book, or report and look for a description of the research "methodology." Ask yourself: Could I recreate this study and test these results? Another hint: some scholarly journals use a specific layout, called the "IMRaD" format, to communicate empirical research findings. Such articles typically have 4 components: Ide...

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