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Middle Grades Education: Evaluate Sources

Tips for evaluating research articles for use

How do you find the time to determine if a scholarly article is useful for your topic when they are 20 pages long? By strategic reading!

A scholarly research article that typically has the components of an Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion/Conclusion, and Reference List. Some articles may have additional components. You don't need to read the entire article to determine whether it could be helpful to you. You can strategically read certain parts.

 

Determine if a scholarly article is potentially useful:
  1. Read the abstract for a general summary of the journal article. Does the abstract and introduction seem relevant to your research question?
    If YES, move on to step 2.
    If NO, discard.
  2. Jump to the discussion and conclusion sections at the end of the article to get a summary of the article's findings. Is the content relevant?
    If YES, move on to step 3.
    If NO, discard. 
  3. Hop back up to the introduction: Skim through the intro to see how the author plans to approach the subject. At this point, you should have a good idea of what the article is about and if it is useful to your topic or not.

 

If you have determined the article to be potentially useful:
  • Critically read the article in chronological order, spending as much time as necessary to do so:
    • What is the author's position? Does their argument seem valid?
    • Does the author seem neutral or too biased? 
  • Take notes on the source, keeping your research question in mind so your notes are relevant.

Adapted from Meriam Library, California State University, Chico (2018) and Western University (2012)

Evaluating resources for credibility: The CRAAP Test & more

CRAAP Test

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We all know there is a wealth of information available, whether that information comes from the Internet or the bookshelf.

The problem with searching for information, and especially on the Internet, is that we don't always know where it comes from and whether or not it is worth trusting. 

Be selective and evaluate the information you find by:

  • Consider the information source, and give the content a critical look over.
  • Using a tool to guide to guide you in evaluating the source for credibility and relevance.

You can use the CRAAP Test linked in the PDF above, or zoom onto the infographic on the right, to help you decide whether or not you should use the information you find for ANY source, not just for the Internet.

More Source Evaluation Guidelines

Internet Extensions (domains)

The domain is an extension of a website indicates the type of body who created it; an indicator of credibility. In advanced web search forms, like Google Advanced Search, you can restrict your search to a particular domain. Note that you can only restrict your search to one domain at a time. Here are common domains:

.com - commercial

  • Commercial websites - websites that are running for a profit
  • Apply caution. Commercial sites are often trying to sell you an idea or a product.

.org - organization

  • Tends to refer to non-profit organizations
  • Tend to be less biased than commercial sites, however, still apply some caution. Some non-profit organizations provide misinformation. 

.net - network

.edu - education

  • Refers to websites from educational institutions, from pre-school to higher education.
  • Tends to be less biased, but again, apply some caution. Different education institutions have different philosophies and are promoting theirs, for example, a Montessori school's website. 

.gov - government (US)

  • Refers to websites by the US government. 

.mil - military (US)

.int - intergovernmental

Different countries have different extensions.

Learn 'How to Read a Scholarly Article' in under 3 mins

Credit: Western Libraries, University of Western Ontario