Environmental Science Research Guide: Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Journal articles:

See the checklist.

.   Consider the source of the article.  Is your article published in a scholarly journal, a trade publication, or a popular magazine? 

17.    Scholarly journals should be your main source for college-level research. 
     
    • Scholarly journals publish articles that contain high-quality research that has been peer-reviewed by experts in the field prior to publication.
    • Scholarly journals are often published by a scholarly professional association (JAMA, Journal of the American Physical Society, etc.)
    • Scholarly journals usually contain lengthy articles that report on original research or scholarship and contain extensive footnotes and bibliographies
    • Scholarly journals contain few advertisements but may include book reviews and may provide job listings.

Example: Not all society publishers are non-biased. Read the article below and analyze the finding in terms of credibility.

Dourson, M. L., Chinkin, L. R., MacIntosh, D. L., Finn, J. A., Brown, K. W., Reid, S. B., & Martinez, J. M. (2016). A case study of potential human health impacts from petroleum coke transfer facilities. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 66(11), 1061-1076.

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