Academic Research

What's the difference between scholarly and popular sources?  

Check out this guide from the NCSU Libraries: 

Scholarly and Popular Materials

Video from Carnegie Vincent Libraries

The CRAAP Test can help you remember to evaluate your sources...think about the following questions:

C - Currency

• When was the information last updated? 
• Have newer articles been published on your topic?
• Are links and other sources up to date?

R - Relevance

• Does the information answer your research question?
• Meet the stated requirements of the assignment?
• Is the info too technical or too simplified for your use?
• Does the source add something new to your knowledge of the topic?

A - Authority

• What are the author's credentials?
• Are they affiliated with an educational institution or prominent organization?
• Do other books or authors cite this author?

A - Accuracy

• Was the information reviewed by editors or subject experts before it was published?
• What citations or references support the author's claims?
• What are others saying about this topic?

P - Purpose

• Is the author's purpose to sell, persuade, entertain, or inform?
• Are there alternative points of view presented?
• Does the author use strong or emotional language?
• Are important facts or data left out that might disprove the claims?

The 5 Cs of Critical Consuming

#1: Context – Look at the context of the article.

• When was it written?
• Where does it come from?
• Have the events changed since then?
• Is there any new information that could change your perspective?

#2: Credibility – Check the credibility of the source.

• Does the site have a reputation for journalistic integrity?
• Does the author cite credible sources?
• Is it satirical?
• Is it on a list of fake news sites?
•  Is it actually an advertisement posing as a real news story?

#3: Construction. Analyze the construction of the article.

• What is the bias?
• Are there any loaded words?
• Any propaganda techniques?
• Any omissions that you should look out for?
• Can you distinguish between the facts and opinions?
• Is it simply all speculation?

#4: Corroboration: Corroborate the information with other credible news sources.

• Is it the only source making this claim? If it is, there’s a good chance it’s actually not true.

#5: Compare: Compare it to other news sources to get different perspectives and a bigger picture of what’s actually happening.

• Are there other credible sources from other areas of the ideological or political spectrum?

From http://www.spencerauthor.com/fake-news-is-a-real-problem-heres-how-students-can-solve-it/

But what exactly does PEER REVIEW mean?

This video from McMaster Libraries explains it in 2 minutes:

If you are doing your research through the university library, you can limit your results to peer-reviewed, scholarly resources easily with a filtering button. But, if you are using a public web resource, such as Google, it is important to be aware of fake journals and pay-to-publish journals. The below video explains how you can identify predatory journals posing as professional, peer-reviewed journals.