Stage 3) In depth research

For in-depth research to be efficient you must have decided on a note taking format and method for referencing.

Look at the skills support section of the website for methods and tips.

There are a wide range of research sources linked in the 'How to Research' section. If you find really useful databases for your subject then tell Mrs Snell so that they can be added here!

You can use online tools like Questia to research and also to organise your research notes.

It is critical to be organised. Take structured notes and references as you go. It is never easy to 'go back' and find a great article at a later date. Research may become useful for other subjects even if you don't use it for your EE in the end.

1) How to Critically Analyze Information Sources

You can begin evaluating a physical information source (a book or an article for instance) even before you have the physical item in hand.

Appraise a source by first examining the bibliographic citation. The bibliographic citation is the written description of a book, journal article, essay, or some other published material that appears in a catalog or index.

Bibliographic citations characteristically have three main components: author, title, and publication information. These components can help you determine the usefulness of this source for your paper. (In the same way, you can appraise a Web site by examining the home page carefully.) I. INITIAL APPRAISAL A. Author

a) What are the author's credentials‐‐institutional affiliation (where he or she works), educational background, past writings, or experience?

Is the book or article written on a topic in the author's area of expertise? You can use the various Who's Who publications for the U.S. and other countries and for specific subjects and the biographical information located in the publication itself to help determine the author's affiliation and credentials.

Have your teachers mentioned this author?

Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies? Respected authors are cited frequently by other scholars. For this reason, always note those names that appear in many different sources.

Is the author associated with a reputable institution or organization? What are the basic values or goals of the organization or institution?

b) Date of Publication

When was the source published? This date is often located on the face of the title page below the name of the publisher. If it is not there, look for the copyright date on the reverse of the title page.

On Web pages, the date of the last revision is usually at the bottom of the home page, sometimes every page.

Is the source current or out‐of‐date for your topic? Topic areas of continuing and rapid development, such as the sciences, demand more current information. On the other hand, topics in the humanities often require material that was written many years ago. At the other extreme, some news sources on the Web now note the hour and minute that articles are posted on their site.

c) Edition or Revision

Is this a first edition of this publication or not? Further editions indicate a source has been revised and updated to reflect changes in knowledge, include omissions, and harmonize with its intended reader's needs. Also, many printings or editions may indicate that the work has become a standard source in the area and is reliable. If you are using a Web source, do the pages indicate revision dates?

d) Publisher

Note the publisher. If the source is published by a university press, it is likely to be scholarly. Although the fact that the publisher is reputable does not necessarily guarantee quality, it does show that the publisher may have high regard for the source being published.

e) Title of Journal

Is this a scholarly or a popular journal? This distinction is important because it indicates different levels of complexity in conveying ideas. If you need help in determining the type of journal, see Distinguishing Scholarly from Non‐Scholarly Periodicals.

2) CONTENT ANALYSIS

Having made an initial appraisal, you should now examine the body of the source.

• Read the preface to determine the author's intentions for the book.
• Scan the table of contents and the index to get a broad overview of the material it covers.
• Note whether bibliographies are included.
• Check for any special features such as important lists of statistics, charts and tables, etc. not found else where.
• Read the chapters that specifically address your topic. Scanning the table of contents of a journal or magazine issue is also useful. As with books, the presence and quality of a bibliography at the end of the article may reflect the care with which the authors have prepared their work.

a) Intended Audience

What type of audience is the author addressing?

Is the publication aimed at a specialized or a general audience?

Is this source too elementary, too technical, too advanced, or just right for your needs?

b) Objective Reasoning

Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda?

It is not always easy to separate fact from opinion. Facts can usually be verified; opinions, though they may be based on factual information, evolve from the interpretation of facts. Skilled writers can make you think their interpretations are facts.

Does the information appear to be valid and well‐researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence? Assumptions should be reasonable. Note errors or omissions.

Are the ideas and arguments advanced more or less in line with other works you have read on the same topic? The more radically an author departs from the views of others in the same field, the more carefully and critically you should scrutinize his or her ideas.

Is the author's point of view objective and impartial?

Is the language free of emotion‐arousing words and bias?

c) Coverage

Does the work update other sources, substantiate other materials you have read, or add new information?

Does it extensively or marginally cover your topic? You should explore enough sources to obtain a variety of viewpoints.

Is the material primary or secondary in nature? Primary sources are the raw material of the research process. Secondary sources are based on primary sources.

Scholars use this primary material to help generate historical interpretations‐‐a secondary source. Books, encyclopedia articles, and scholarly journal articles about the event or subject are considered secondary sources.

In the sciences, journal articles and conference proceedings written by experimenters reporting the results of their research are primary documents.

Choose both primary and secondary sources when you have the opportunity.

d) Writing Style

Is the publication organized logically?

Are the main points clearly presented?

Do you find the text easy to read, or is it stilted or choppy?

Is the author's argument repetitive?

e) Evaluative Reviews

Locate critical reviews of books in a reviewing source, such as Book Review Index, Book Review Digest, OR Periodical Abstracts.

Is the review positive?

Is the book under review considered a valuable contribution to the field?

Does the reviewer mention other books that might be better? If so, locate these sources for more information on your topic.

Do the various reviewers agree on the value or attributes of the book or has it aroused controversy among the critics?

How to Evaluate Web Sites:

Criteria and Tools (Context is The Primary Factor)

a) The User Context: The most important factor when evaluating Web sites is your search, your needs.

What are you using the Web for? Entertainment?

Academic work?

Hobbies or a vocational interests?

Scholarly sources are traditionally very strongly text‐based. Compare the appearance and the content of an academic journal with a popular magazine.

b) The Web Context:

Some of the visual distinctions that signal the nature of content in print sources hold true on the Web as well, although, because the Web encourages wider use of graphics, Web versions of printed works usually contain more graphics and more color than their print counterparts.

Color graphics appeared on the New York Times Web site before they appeared in the printed New York Times, for instance.

c) Evaluation Criteria:

Begin each web page/site evaluation with the Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages.

If the site stands up to this initial evaluation, use the process for Critically Analyzing Information Sources as you would for any print item.

Evaluating Web Sites

Web pages in this section refers to the free web—web sites anyone can access—not web‐based research tools like subscription databases resources that you (or your school or your public library) pay for and that must have a password to access.

Here are the Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages you should consider when evaluating web sites.

1. Authority?

Who wrote the page?

Look for the author's name near the top or the bottom of the page. If you can't find a name, look for a copyright credit (©) or link to an organization.

What are the author's credentials?

Look for biographical information or the author's affiliations (university department, organization, corporate title, etc.).

Can you verify the author's credentials?

Could the credentials be made up?

Anyone who has visited a chat room knows that people don't always identify themselves accurately.

Did the author include contact information? Look for an email link, address, or phone number for the author.

A responsible author should give you the means to contact him/her.

Whose web site is this? What organization is sponsoring the web page?

Look at the domain (.com, .edu, .org, etc.). Look for an "about this site" link. Also look for a tilde (~) in the URL, which usually identifies a personal directory on a web site. Be careful of a web page that has a tilde in its URL.

Internet service provider sites (AOL, Mindspring, MSN, etc.) and online community sites (GeoCities, Tripod, Angelfire, etc.) feature personal pages. Be careful of web pages from those sites, too.

2. Audience and Purpose:

What is the purpose of the page?

Why did the author create it? The purpose could be advertising, advocacy, news, entertainment, opinion, fandom, scholarship, satire, etc.

Some pages have more than one purpose. For example, http://www.dowjones.com/ provides free business information but also encourages you to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal.

Who is the target audience?

academic researchers? kids? buyers of competitors' products? trekkers? political extremists?

Look at reading level of the page: is it easy to read or challenging?

Does it assume previous knowledge of the subject?

3. Currency?

Is there a date at the top or bottom of the page?

But note: a recent date doesn't necessarily mean the information is current. The content might be years out of date even if the given date is recent. (The last update of the page might have consisted of someone changing an email address or fixing a typo.)

Is the information up‐to‐date?

This takes a little more time to determine. Compare the information on the web page to information available through other sources like databases or print resources.

Broken links are one measure of an out‐of‐date page.

In general, information for science, technology, and business ages quickly. Information in the humanities and social sciences ages less quickly. However, old information can still be perfectly valid.

3. Objectivity vs. Bias?

Is the author being objective or biased?

Biased information is not necessarily bad, but you must take the bias into account when interpreting or using the information given.

Look at the facts the author provides, and the facts the author doesn't provide.

Are the facts accurately and completely cited? Is the author fair, balanced, and moderate in his or her views, or is the author overly emotional or extreme? Based on the author's authority, try to identify any conflict of interest.

Determine if the advertising is clearly separated from the objective information on the page.

4. Support for Evidence?

Does the author support the information he or she uses?

Look for links or citations to sources. Some academic web pages include bibliographies.

Is the support respectable?

Does the page cite well‐known sources or authorities?

Does the page cite a variety of sources?

Do other pages on the same topic cite some of the same sources?

The web page in question should have a mix of internal links (links to web pages on the same site or by the same author) and external links (links to other sources or experts).

If a web page makes it hard for you to check the support, be suspicious.

Is the web the right place to do your research? Some kinds of information are not available on the free web.

Also, some kinds of information are easier to find using library resources.

Examples:

• literary criticism (begin with a literature database like the EBSCO Literary Reference Center or GALE Literature Resource Center.)

• scientific/social analysis (an online periodical database like EBSCO will provide you with current, peer‐reviewed articles; use online databases specifically designed for your area of interest—check public library and/or state funded databases)

• print resources (some of the very best resources are only available in print format.

Books are not going away any time soon. Make sure you take the time to use print resources)

How to Recognize and Evaluate Scholarly Journals and Other Periodicals

Journals and magazines are important sources for up‐to‐date information in all disciplines. With such a wide range of periodicals available it is often difficult to distinguish between the various levels of scholarship found. Generally speaking, you can divide periodical literature into four categories:

• Scholarly: Concerned with academic study, especially research, exhibiting the methods and attitudes of a scholar, and having the manner and appearance of a scholar.
• Substantive News/General Interest: Having a solid base, being substantial.
• Popular: Fit for, or reflecting the taste and intelligence of, the people at large.
• Sensational: Arousing or intending to arouse strong curiosity, interest or reaction.

SCHOLARLY

• Scholarly journal articles often have an abstract, a descriptive summary of the article contents, before the main text of the article.
• Scholarly journals generally have a sober, serious look. They often contain many graphs and charts but few glossy pages or exciting pictures.
• Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies. These bibliographies are generally lengthy and cite other scholarly writings.
• Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has done research in the field. The affiliations of the authors are listed, usually at the bottom of the first page or at the end of the article‐‐universities, research institutions, think tanks, and the like.
• The language of scholarly journals is that of the discipline covered. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader.
• The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world.
• Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specific professional organization.

EXAMPLES OF SCHOLARLY JOURNALS: American Economic Review

JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association

Journal of Marriage and the Family (published by the National Council on Family Relations) Modern Fiction Studies

Nature

Journal of Psychology

Journal of Drvelopment Economics

SUBSTANTIVE NEWS OR GENERAL INTEREST

• These periodicals may be quite attractive in appearance, although some are in newspaper format. Articles are often heavily illustrated, generally with photographs.
• News and general interest periodicals sometimes cite sources, though more often do not.
• Articles may be written by a member of the editorial staff, a scholar or a free lance writer.
• The language of these publications is geared to any educated audience. There is no specialty assumed, only interest and a certain level of intelligence.
• They are generally published by commercial enterprises or individuals, although some emanate from specific professional organizations.
• The main purpose of periodicals in this category is to provide information, in a general manner, to a broad audience of concerned citizens.

EXAMPLES OF SUBSTANTIVE NEWS OR GENERAL INTEREST PERIODICALS: Christian Science Monitor

Economist

National Geographic

New York Times

Scientific American

POPULAR

• Popular periodicals come in many formats, although often somewhat slick and attractive in appearance. Lots of graphics (photographs, drawings, etc.).
• These publications rarely, if ever, cite sources. Information published in such journals is often second or third hand and the original source is sometimes obscure.
• Articles are usually very short, written in simple language and are designed to meet a minimal education level. There is generally little depth to the content of these articles.
• The main purpose of popular periodicals is to entertain the reader, to sell products (their own or their advertisers), and/or to promote a viewpoint.

EXAMPLES OF POPULAR PERIODICALS: Fashion Magazines

Parents

People Weekly

Readers Digest

Sports Illustrated

Time

SENSATIONAL

• Sensational periodicals come in a variety of styles, but often use a newspaper format.
• Their language is elementary and occasionally inflammatory or sensational. They assume a certain gullibility in their audience.
• The main purpose of sensational magazines seems to be to arouse curiosity and to cater to popular superstitions. They often do so with flashy headlines designed to astonish (e.g. Half‐ man Half‐woman Makes Self Pregnant).

EXAMPLES OF SENSATIONAL PERIODICALS:

Globe

National Examiner

Star

Weekly World News

The Sun