How to Do Library Research

This set of pages has information on how to do library research. In all cases, once you have located sources, be sure to evaluate them, using the evaluation guides.

How to Evaluate Journal Articles

How to Evaluate Journal Articles

To evaluate a journal article look for:

  • Purpose of Article: Why was the article written? To:
    • persuade the reader to do something?
      • For example: vote a certain way, purchase an item, attend an event
    • inform the reader?
      • For example: results of a study/experiment, what happened at an event
    • prove something?
      • For example: that a behavior is bad/good, a method works/doesn't work

         

  • Type of Journal: For college-level term papers, information should be obtained mostly from scholarly journals. Scholarly Journals contain articles describing high quality research that has been reviewed by experts in the field prior to publication.Trade magazines may be useful for topics in business or where economic data is needed. There are also good for learning what the current "hot topics" are in an area.Popular magazines, such as Time and Newsweek, should be used sparingly, or not at all.Popular vs Trade vs Scholarly Journals.
    See also Evaluation Clues for Articles Taken from the Web.
     
  • Organization and Content: Is the material organized and focused? Is the argument or presentation understandable? Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece?
     
  • Bias (of the publisher): Some publications have an inherent bias that will impact articles printed in them. Is the journal:
    • left/liberal?
    • right/conservative?
    • center?
    • an alternative press?
    • published by a political action (PAC) group?
    Magazines for Libraries identifies ideological slants for a select number of periodicals. Now imbedded within UlrichsWeb (available to CSU affiliates only); a yellow star to the left of the name of the periodical indicates a review, often from Magazines for Libraries.
     
  • Date of Article: Some topics, such as those in the health sciences, require current information. Other subjects, such as geology, value older material as well as current. Know the time needs of your topic and examine the timeliness of the article; is it:
    • up-to-date,
    • out-of-date, or
    • timeless?
       
  • Bibliography: Scholarly works always contain a bibliography of the resources that were consulted. The references in this list should be in sufficient quantity and be appropriate for the content. Look for:
    • if a bibliography exists,
    • if the bibliography is short or long,
    • if the bibliography is selective or comprehensive,
    • if the references are primary sources (ex. journal articles) or only secondary sources (ex. encyclopedias),
    • if the references are contemporary to the article or much older, and
    • if the citation style is clear and consistent.
       
  • Usefulness: Is the article relevant to the current research project? A well-researched, well-written, etc. article is not going to be helpful if it does not address the topic at hand. Ask, "is this article useful to me?" If it is a useful article, does it:
    • support an argument
    • refute an argument
    • give examples (survey results, primary research findings, case studies, incidents)
    • provide "wrong" information that can be challenged or disagreed with productively
       
  • Authority: Is the author an expert in this field? Where is the author employed? What else has he/she written? Has he/she won awards or honors?
     
  • Coverage: Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it an overview?
     
  • Audience: For what type of reader is the author writing? This ties in with the type of journal, as popular magazine are geared to the general reader, while trade magazines are for the specialist and scholarly journals are directed at researchers, scholars or experts in the field. Is the article for:
    • general readers,
    • students (high school, college, graduate),
    • specialists or professionals,
    • researchers or scholars?
       
  • Illustrations: Are charts, graphs, maps, photographs, etc. used to illustrate concepts? Are the illustrations relevant? Are they clear and professional-looking?
     
  • Context: Information is contextual. Who, what, when, where, why, and how will impact whether or not a resource is useful to you. If you are doing a survey of popular culture, for example, popular magazines would be a useful primary source.

Cómo evaluar artículos de periódicos

Para evaluar artículos de periódicos considere lo siguiente:

  • El propósito del artículo: ¿Por qué se escribió el artículo? ¿Para persuadir al lector a que haga algo? ¿Para informar al lector? ¿Para probar algo?

  • El tipo de artículo: Para trabajos de nivel universitario la información se debe de obtener en revistas académicos.

  • La oraganización y el contenido: ¿ El material, está organizado y enfocado? ¿Se entiende el argumento y la presentación? ¿La investigación original, es una revisión de la investigación previa o un texto informativo?

  • La influencia (de la casa editora)

  • La fecha del artículo

  • La bibliografía

  • La utilidad: ¿Es el artículo relevante para el proyecto de investigación en progreso?

  • La Autoridad/autor/a: ¿Es el/la autor/a un/a experto/a en el campo? ¿Dónde está empleado/a el/la autor/a? ¿Qué otras cosas ha escrito? ¿Ha ganado reconocimientos y honores?

  • La cubertura: ¿Cubre el artículo el tema completamente, parcialmente o generalmente?

  • La audiencia: ¿Para qué tipo de lector está escribiendo el autor?

  • Las ilustraciones: Para ilustrar los conceptos, ¿aparecen diagramas, gráficas, mapas, fotografías,etc.? Las ilustraciones, ¿son relevantes? ¿Son claras y lucen profesionalmente?

Versión detallada de cómo evaluar artículos de periódicos--Inglés

Traducido por Maria Langley

Comment évaluer des articles de journaux

Pour évaluer un article de journal, notez:

  • Le style du journal Pour les dissertations du niveau du collège, on obtient ces informations, la plupart du temps dans des journaux scientifiques ou savants .
    • Les journaux savants contiennent des articles qui décrivent des recherches de haute qualité qui ont été passées en revue par des experts en la matière avant leur publication.
    • Les magazines commerciaux peuvent être utiles pour les affaires ou quand on a besoin de données economiques.
    • Les magazines populaires, tels que Time et Newsweek devraient être utilisés avec réserve ou pas du tout.

Pour plus de détails sur la façon de distinguer les journaux populaires, des journaux professionnels, des journaux savants, voir: Magazines populaires, magazines professionnels, journaux académiques. (Les journaux populaires, comparés aux journaux professionnels et savants.)

  • L'Audience. Pour quel type de lecteur l'auteur écrit-il ? Cela nous ramène au style de journal: les journaux populaires sont dirigés vers les lecteurs ordinaires, les journaux professionnels sont pour les spécialistes et les journaux scientifiques et érudits sont pour les chercheurs, les savants et les experts. L'article est il pour:
    • les lecteurs ordinaires
    • les étudiants (Lycée, collèges universités)
    • les specialistes et professionnels
    • chercheurs ou universitaires
       
  • La date de l'article La date de l'article. Certains sujets, tels que les sciences de la santé, exigent des informations courantes. D'autres, tels que la géologie, utilisent des publications anciennes comme des récentes. Tenez compte de l'époque de votre sujet et évaluez l'à-propos du livre, est-il:
    • à jour,
    • démodé ou
    • universel ?
       
  • La notoriété. L'auteur est-il expert en la matière ? Où l'auteur est-il employé ? Qu'a-t-il écrit d'autre ? A-t-il gâgne des prix mon‚taires ou honnoraires ?
     
  • L'organisation et le contenu Le matériel écrit est-il organisé et au point? L'argumentation ou la présentation sont ils compréhensibles ? Est ce une recherche initiale, une critique de recherche antérieure ou un aricle d'informations?
     
  • L'article couvre-t-il le sujet complètement, partiellement ou n'est-ce qu' une vue d'ensemble?
     
  • Bibliographie. Les ouvrages savants contiennent toujours une bibliographie des ressources consultées. Les références de cette liste devraient être de quantité suffisante et être à la mesure du contenu. Cherchez:
    • S'il existe une bibliographie,
    • Si cette bibliographie est longue ou courte
    • Si cette bibliographie est sélective ou complète,
    • Si les références sont des sources principales (ex. articles de journaux) ou seulement des sources secondaires (ex. encyclopedies).
    • Si les références sont contemporaines du livre ou beaucoup plus anciennes, et
    • Si le style des citations et clair et cohérent.
       
  • Les illustrations peuvent être des diagrammes, des graphiques, des photographies, etc. utilisées pour illustrer des concepts. Ces illustrations sont-elles appropriées? Sont-elles claires et professionnelles?

Traduit par Michele Nelson

How to Evaluate Journal Articles-Summary

To evaluate a journal article look for:

  • Purpose of Article: Why was the article written? To: persuade the reader to do something? inform the reader? prove something?
     
  • Type of Journal: For college-level term papers, information should be obtained mostly from scholarly journals. 
     
  • Organization and Content: Is the material organized and focused? Is the argument or presentation understandable? Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece?
     
  • Bias (of the publisher)
     
  • Date of Article 
     
  • Bibliography
     
  • Usefulness: Is the article relevant to the current research project?
     
  • Authority/author: Is the author an expert in this field? Where is the author employed? What else has he/she written? Has he/she won awards or honors?
     
  • Coverage: Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it an overview?
     
  • Audience: For what type of reader is the author writing?
     
  • Illustrations: Are charts, graphs, maps, photographs, etc. used to illustrate concepts? Are the illustrations relevant? Are they clear and professional-looking?
     
  • Context: Information is contextual. Who, what, when, where, why, and how will impact whether or not a resource is useful to you. If you are doing a survey of popular culture, for example, popular magazines would be a useful primary source.

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