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    Citing Sources in Turabian: Evaluating Sources

    Getting Started With Scholarly Sources

    Most assignments will require you to use some scholarly or academic sources.

    Scholarly Resources: Scholarly resources are written with a focus on a specific subject discipline and usually written by an expert in the same subject field.  Scholarly resources are written for an academic audience.

    Examples of Scholarly Resources include: Academic journals, books written by experts in a field, and formally published encyclopedias and dictionaries.  Read more about scholarly vs. popular resources in the content below.

    Primary Sources: “Original records created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or well after events, as in memoirs and oral histories." (ALA 2008). https://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/primarysources

    Examples of Primary Sources include:Photographs, letters, historical documents, data sets, and audio recordings.

    Peer Reviewed Journals:   Peer reviewed journals are evaluated prior to publication by experts in the journal’s subject discipline. This process ensures that the articles published within the journal are academically rigorous and meet the required expectations of an article in that subject discipline.

    Empirical Journal Articles : This type of scholarly resource is a subset of scholarly articles that reports the original finding of an observational and/or experimental research study. Common aspects found within an empirical article include: literature review, methodology, results, and discussion.

    Scholarly vs. Popular Sources

    - authored by Mary Beth Nipp, M.Ed., GCU Assistant Professor

    Your instructor may require that you support your paper by using a scholarly source.  What does that mean, and how can you be sure your sources meet this requirement?

    A popular source is just that - popular.  When you are reading People magazine at the dentist's office, or that non-fiction book on the bestseller list, these are examples of popular sources.  Scholarly sources, on the other hand, are written specifically to inform, not to entertain.  Let's examine other criteria that will help determine if the sources are popular or scholarly.

    As you review this criteria, let the acronym "SPECIAL"help guide you in determining the significant differences between popular and scholarly sources.

    Remember that the best way to find scholarly sources is also to select peer-reviewed sources from the GCU Library.

    Peer reviewed sources are scholarly journals that require an impartial review by experts in the same subject field, who evaluate the quality, accuracy and validity of the research prior to publication.  This peer review process ensures that the articles published within the journal are academically rigorous and meet the required expectations of an article in that subject discipline.

    S - Subject

    The subject of the source can indicate whether the source is popular or scholarly.  A celebrity engagement, the latest draft in the NFL, or a new diet would be examples of popular topics.  However, even some serious subjects, such as personal finance, book reviews, and health issues might also be considered popular, because these may appeal to a general audience.

    A scholarly subject, on the other hand, is usually specific to its field.  For example, a doctor may conduct a specific study, or a professor may publish research on a certain practice in teaching.  Consider the subject of a source to help determine if it is scholarly.

    P - Publication

    The type of publication can also help determine if the source is popular or scholarly.  Books can be either, so examine other criteria.  Most magazines are usually popular. Think of being in your dentist's office or in line at the market.  You might pick up a  Time magazine, People , or In Style , and these are all popular publications.  Journals, on the other hand, are usually devoted to a profession and are not typically available to a general audience.  You can find journals in a university library database or through vocational memberships.

    E - Entertainment Value

    If the source you are examining provides entertainment, then it is probably a popular source.  Authors of popular sources view their purpose as entertainment, whereas scholarly sources serve to inform.

    C - Citations

    Popular sources typically do not contain citations, as they do not draw from other sources.  A scholarly source, on the other hand, will have in-text citations and a reference page.  So the scholarly source draws from many perspectives and experts, while a popular source is typically by one author.

    I - Intended Audience

    Popular sources target a general audience, while scholarly sources target a specific one.  For instance, a scholarly source documenting how moon dust might react to an insect would be for a specific audience; learning what kinds of foods will improve your cholesterol levels would be for a broader one.

    A - Author

    Often, the author can reveal if the source is scholarly or popular.  Someone with credentials and expertise, such as a doctor, professor, engineer, or a psychologist would write a scholarly article, while popular sources may be regularly attributed to the publication.

    Be aware, though, that experts may move from the scholarly to the popular. As an example, although Dr. Oz. is a licensed professional, his purpose is generally for entertainment and to reach broad audiences.

    L - Length

    Popular sources are often brief, as they are designed to entertain their reader, while the lengthier scholarly sources are meant to inform.

    Evaluating Digital Sources Tutorial

    Evaluating Sources to Use for Your Assignments

    The SIFT method is one way to avoid untrustworthy sources. Sources for coursework should be identifiable, current, and authoritative, so evaluating them can be even simpler--the identity and date of the source can be all you need. 

    Step One: What is This Source?

    Before you evaluate, identify!

    • What is it? Is this a website, an article, a book?
      • The web contains a vast number of different types of sources. 
      • Different kinds of sources are appropriate for different kinds of assignments.
        • Scholarly or academic sources can be found on the web, but you will need to identify them yourself. 
        • Library databases identify source types for you.
    • Who is it from? Where did it come from? 
      • Identify the author or creator and publisher or host.
      • Unsigned corporate writing—content without a personal name on official websites—is not the same as anonymous. Instead treat it as the voice of the organization, company, or agency.
      • Know who they are. Use other sources such as news, Wikipedia, or Google to verify if you are unsure.
        • Verify the URL as part of identifying official sources. 
      • Know their reputation. Again, use outside sources to check, don't just take a site's word for it.  
        • The reputation of the author and the publisher both matter. 
      • Know their point of view or biases.
    • Can't figure out the identity of your source? Stop.
      • Ask the Library or your instructor for help.
      • Find a better source.

    Visit Web Search Tips for examples on how to identify online sources.

     Step Two: Time

    How current is it?

    • The web is 25+ years old. Look out for old things left up.
    • The Library databases have sources going back 100+ years. 
    •  Always look at and consider the dates of your sources. 
    • While some fields, such as theology and history, use sources for a long time, most change quickly enough that older information may not be accurate. 
      • For information that needs to be current, aim for around five years or less to start.
      • Older articles may be especially important for the history of a topic, to trace how a topic developed, or to look at a groundbreaking work.
        • For example, Dorothea Orem's writings about her self-care nursing theory are still frequently cited today, even though the original articles are from the 1960s, because the model is still in use.
      • Using very old sources should be intentional, not accidental.

    Undated Websites:

    • Is this the current official site of an organization, company, institution, or agency? 
      • If so pages may not have specific dates, just a general copyright range. 
      • Just ensure that it is still being updated.

    Step Three: Digging Deeper on Authority & Reliability

      After you've found a source, identified who and where it comes from, and checked the dates, you may need to consider a few more things. Many sources won't need step three--you'll know what you need to know just from identifying it. 

      Example:

      You want to include specific numbers about how many people in the United States have different levels of education. You find many websites talking about these statistics. One is "Educational Attainment in the United States: 2020" from census.gov. 

      You identify:

      • This is the official Census Bureau website, as it is a .gov and other sites ID it as the official site.
      • The Census Bureau is the government agency that tracks this information, and other websites cite or link to them for this information. 

      That's all the evaluation needed for this information source.  

      Authority: Credentials & Bias

      What are the credentials of the author or creators?

      • Are they a known author in this subject?
      • Do they have the proper credentials, are they in a field related to the content?
        • A respected economist is no more authoritative on hospital procedures than anyone else outside the health care field. 
      • Sources meant to persuade or advocate may not present all sides accurately. 
      • Balance sources about controversial issues across multiple sources from different points of view.

      Reliability: Accuracy & Verifiability 

      How verifiable is this source?

      • Academic sources will tell you where their information comes from through citations.
      • News writing and official sources should also be clear about where their information comes from.
      • Not all publishers are reputable.
        • Predatory journals are those that publish articles for pay, without holding them to standards of quality or peer review. 
        • Vanity presses publish books for anyone who pays them, without any standards of quality.
        • Some newspapers and magazines publish gossip and rumors. 
      • Preprint articles have not been accepted by a journal, so they won't have a journal name with them. There may be serious issues with the article found in review. These articles are easily found online on preprint servers such as arXiv or MedRxiv.
        • Preprints are for readers with strong knowledge in the subject. Others won't have the background to spot problems. 

      Open Access Journal Articles

      Consider this article:  Beyond Reference Data: A Qualitative Analysis of Nursing Library Chats to Improve Research Health Science Services

      1. What can we notice at the top?

      the header says evidence based library and information practice and about the journal and a issue and volume number

      • A journal title and that it is a journal.
      • A volume and issue number.

      2. Also on the page is a DOI, the unique id number given to most academic articles. 

      DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18438/eblip29828

      3. The journal has an "about" box to the side:

      "EBLIP is a peer reviewed, open access journal published quarterly by the University of Alberta Library. EBLIP publishes original research and commentary on the topic of evidence based library and information practice, as well as reviews of previously published research (evidence summaries) on a wide number of topics."

      4. The address matches that claim:

      https://journals.library. ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/29883

      Ualberta.ca goes to the University of Alberta's homepage. 

      We have identified this as a peer-reviewed journal article in a university journal. We are done evaluating this source.

      Dates

      Examples: Dates

      How old is too old depends on the situation. Here are a few examples of when you need to be aware of dates.

      1. Current Events.

      If you search on Youtube.com for footage or reports about the 2021 volcanic eruption in Hawaii, older videos from eruptions in the past are mixed in and are high on this list, such as this video from many years ago . While information about past eruptions could be useful, it is important not to mix up different events. 

      2. Empirical Research & Review Articles (Clinical Practice Guidelines, Systematic Reviews, or Meta-analyses).

      Science changes! Older research won't have the most up-to-date methods or technology. For empirical research you are using as evidence of current science, try and find sources within the last five years. For rapidly developing science, such as medical science, look for the most recent articles first. 

      3. Legal or Legislative Sources

      Laws, federal rules and regulations, and court decisions are also always changing. If you need to discuss bills under consideration, make sure you are on an official source and on the current legislative session. Use official sources or a database such as NexisUni to look up the text of laws or regulations. NexisUni will flag laws that have been repealed or court cases that were overturned. 

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