Image: Jonne Renvall / Tampere University
Evaluating information sources can be tricky, especially when it comes to online sources. Here are some things to consider when you are looking for information online:
Author:
Validity
Content
Target audience
Source: Guide to information retrieval [WWW]. Espoo, Aalto University Library. [cited 14.7.2014]. Available: http://libguides.aalto.fi/informationretrieval
Periodical is a term used to describe any publication that is published multiple times (periodically). Periodicals include materials such as popular magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers.
It is important to understand the difference between a popular and a scholarly periodical. When you are doing research, most of your sources should be scholarly.
Often popular periodicals are called magazines and scholarly periodicals are called journals. Many times it will be acceptable to use some popular material, but research papers should not be based solely on popular literature.
Explore this visual aid describing the key elements of an academic journal article: Anatomy of a Scholarly Article
|
Criteria |
Popular Magazine |
Trade Journal |
Scholarly Journal / Academic Journal |
|
Example |
Helsingin Sanomat, La Gazette, New York Times, Suomen Kuvalehti. |
Chemical Week, InfoWorld Daily News, Markkinointi & Mainonta, Metallitekniikka |
Harvard Business Review, Journal of the American Mathematical Society, The Lancet |
|
Content |
Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal narrative or opinion; general information, purpose is to entertain or inform. |
Current news, trends and products in a specific industry; practical information for professionals working in the field or industry. |
In-depth, primary account of original findings written by the researcher(s); very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication. |
|
Author |
Author is frequently a journalist paid to write articles, may or may not have subject expertise. |
Author is usually a professional in the field, sometimes a journalist with subject expertise. |
Author's credentials are provided; usually a scholar or specialist with subject expertise. Author is not paid a fee for writing the article. |
|
Audience |
General public; the interested non-specialist. |
Professionals in the field; the interested non-specialist. |
Scholars, researchers, and students. |
|
Language |
Vocabulary in general usage; easily understandable to most readers. |
Specialized terminology or jargon of the field, but not as technical as a scholarly journal. |
Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires expertise in subject area. |
|
Graphics |
Graphs, charts and tables; lots of glossy advertisements and photographs. |
Photographs; some graphics and charts; advertisements targeted to professionals in the field. |
Graphs, charts, and tables; very few advertisements and photographs. |
|
Layout & Organization |
Informal; may include non-standard formatting. May not present supporting evidence or a conclusion |
Informal; articles organized like a journal or a newsletter. Evidence drawn from personal experience or common knowledge. |
Formal; includes the article abstract, goals and objectives, methodology, results (evidence), discussion, conclusion, and bibliography. |
|
Reliability |
Articles are evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field; edited for format and style. |
Articles are evaluated by editorial staff who may be experts in the field, not peer-reviewed*; edited for format and style. |
Articles are evaluated by peer-reviewers* or referees who are experts in the field; edited for content, format, and style. |
|
References |
Rare. Little, if any, information about source materials is given, |
Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required |
Required. Quotes and facts are verifiable. |
Source: "Scholarly vs. Popular Materials" by Amy VanScoy, NCSU Library and "Scholarly, Popular and Trade Journals" by Jason Puckett & Lyn Thaxton at GSU.
*Peer-review: the article (data, method, conclusions, references,etc.) is evaluated by one or more specialist in the field before it is accepted for publication.
