RCP 502 - Rehabilitation Counseling Research & Program Evaluation: Evaluating Your Sources

Scholarly journals (aka academic journals) publish articles by scholars and researchers in their field and are intended for the academic community.  Many scholarly journals are also peer-reviewed (aka refereed), which means they have an editorial board with additional experts in the field review all articles submitted for publication to ensure that they meet academic standards.  Examples of scholarly journals are American Journal of Archaeology and Journal of Abnormal Psychology.  Some databases allow you to limit your results to Scholarly/Academic/Peer-Reviewed Journals (look for a check box on the database home page).

Popular journals are intended for the general public, and their journalists may have some knowledge of a field but are usually not academic experts.    Examples of popular journals are Scientific American and Psychology Today.  Popular journals can be appropriate for some academic papers, but not all, so be sure to check with your professor.

How can you distinguish a scholarly journal from a popular journal?  Refer to the following chart, which highlights the differences between the two:

When you select sources for your research assignment, make sure coordinate with your professor and evaluate them carefully!  Use the 5Ws method: Who, What, Where, When, Why?  Evaluating sources is especially important if you are using sources from the internet.

• Who wrote the pages, and is that person an expert in the field? Authority
• What is the purpose of the site? Objectivity -- Goals of the Authors
• Where does the information come from? Accuracy -- Reliability
• When was the site created, updated, or last worked on? Currency
• Why is the information valuable? Coverage -- Value of the content

Learn to effectively evaluate the information that you find on the web.