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ENT 300/HORT 330: Pests, Plagues and Politics

Initial Evaluation Steps - Look at the Article Details

Scientific or "peer-reviewed" articles are research articles that have been evaluated and approved by other experts in the field before being accepted for publication in a journal. They almost all follow a predictable pattern and contain the following elements:

1. AUTHOR:  The author is always listed with the credentials that identify the author's expertise, such as university or research affiliation.  The author often holds a Ph.D. in the subject area of the article. Contrast this to an author who writes on many different topics (like in a magazine or newspaper).
2. LANGUAGE:  The article language tends to be formal and technical, and is particular to the discipline in which it is written.  It is geared to other researchers in the same subject.  Contrast this with popular articles that are written at an informal and basic level for easy understanding by the general public.

3.  CONTENT:  There is an abstract at the beginning of the article which summarizes the content.  The articles almost always follow the pattern of having introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and bibliography sections. News articles, scientific letters and book reviews do not follow this pattern. 

4.  ORIGINAL DATA:  Original data will be presented in charts and graphs illustrating the results of experiments. Contrast this to a news feature, which pulls together results and ideas from other researchers' work.

5: DATE:  How old is the source? Will this matter for your topic? In some fields, having the newest information can be important. Some aspects of a topic may need more current information than others.

6: BIBLIOGRAPHY:  Does the source have a bibliography? This can lead you to other sources.

 

More In-depth Evaluation Steps

There is no simple formula for evaluating sources; evaluation always depends on the needs of your audience, for example, how much background information do they need, will more basic information be more effective, or will more in-depth information be more compelling?

Here is a basic framework you can use to evaluate both your needs and your audience's needs and analyze how well your sources support it:

1. Is the source useful to you?

  • Does it provide the kind of information you need?
  • Does it meet your assignment requirements?
  • Does it make you think? Did it spark further questions or suggest additional lines of inquiry?
  • Does it help you contextualize or understand other sources?

2. Is this the type of source your audience expects you to use?

  • Is it at the right level -- not too difficult nor too easy for your audience? 
  • Will it give you more credibility with your audience if you use it?

3. Who created the source?

  • Is the author identified AND if they are, are they someone you find credible?
  • If the author is not identified, is there a group or institution responsible for the source?  Do you find that group credible?
  • Have you done whatever additional research you need to do to decide if the author is credible or useful? 

4. What is the author's (or institution's or agency's) purpose in creating this source?

  • Are they trying to persuade you to do or think something specific?
  • Are they selling something?
  • Does their purpose or agenda affect the quality of their evidence? Did it affect how they presented it?

(This framework is adapted from one created by OSU librarian Anne-Marie Deitering in The Academic Writer, by Lisa Ede)

How to Read a Scholarly Article

Reading a scholarly journal article does not need to be daunting. Here are some suggestions:

  • Read the abstract first. This should give you a complete overview of the article.
  • Skim the article to get a sense of the sections and general contents.
  • Read the abstract/introduction and then skip to the conclusion or discussion section. This will help you get an overall sense of the article and whether or not it is relevant to your research.
  • Then read each section carefully.

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