Goals
By the end of the session you will be able to:
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What makes evidence compelling or believable?
Type some ideas below.
Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Sources
| Scholarly | Non-Scholarly | |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Subject matter expert; advanced education | Journalist, writer, professional |
| Verification | Reviewed by other subject matter experts | Reviewed by an editor or not at all |
| Audience & Language | Technical language intended for other scholars | General public; might use professional terminology |
| Contents | Original research | News, practical information, creative work |
| References | Always cites previous works; formal citation | Sometimes; often informal |
Articles
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
They are written for experts in the field, so they may use terminology that you are not familiar with. Be patient, give yourself lots of time to read the article, and don’t be afraid to look up unfamiliar words or concepts in a dictionary.
Search tips:
Use the 'Peer-reviewed' filter in LibrarySearch to find scholarly articles. Google Scholar can also help but not all results will be available freely.
Example:
Lough, K., & Ashe, I. (2021). Journalism’s visual construction of place in environmental coverage. Newspaper Research Journal, 42(2), 253–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329211018527
Books
Strengths
Weaknesses
Tips for finding books
Example:
Moore, E. (2018). Journalism, politics, and the Dakota access pipeline: Standing Rock and the framing of injustice. Routledge.
Is it Scholarly?
Look at each source and vote on whether it is scholarly or not.
Deconstructing a Topic
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Background Searching
Use a variety of sources to find out about your topic. This is an opportunity to explore your topic without concern about using only credible sources. You probably won't use these initial sources in your paper.
Record Ideas
Use your background search to generate ideas about how you might explore the topic. Cast a wide net. You can write them down as a list or map them out.
Develop a Research Question
Start asking questions about your topic. Your research question will further evolve as you gather more information
1. Is legal sports gambling beneficial?
2. How does legal sports gambling impact the economy?
3. Does tax revenue from legal sports gambling outweigh the fiscal and social costs?
Developing Search Terms
Use information gathered during your background research to develop a search strategy.
1. Try to use the language of academia, but be open to synonyms (e.g. gambling vs betting)
2. Use only terms that describe the information you are seeking
3. Break your search up - use separate searches for different sub-topics (e.g. tax revenue vs addiction treatment costs)
4. Use AND between terms when you want both terms in results. Use OR when you want either term in results.
Examples
sports AND (gambling OR betting) AND tax* AND revenue
sports AND (gambling OR betting) AND addiction AND (cost OR expense)
LibrarySearch
Things to remember when using LibrarySearch:
Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.
Use the pin icon to save books and articles.
Use the filters on the right. You will use Availability, Resource Type, and Date filters most often.
When viewing an item record, scroll down to the Access Options section to get the item.
Google Scholar Tips
1. Turn on the Mount Royal University library link to see items that are available through the library
2. Not all items will be freely available. Search for the title in the library or on Google, or use a browser extension like Unpaywall.
3. You can request an interlibrary loan for unavailable articles.
4. Use the date filters as Google Scholar often returns very old articles.
The Context of Information
Don't think of information as good or bad. The value of information is determined by the context in which it is used.
For your assignment, you should use:
1. Primarily academic information
2. Information that is credible
3. Information that supports your argument(s)
Consider the following:
1. Has your source been written by experts and formally reviewed prior to publication? If not, how was it reviewed? Are the authors qualified to speak on the topic?
2. How did the authors gather data/information to reach their conclusions? Are their methods sound? Did they exclude information?
3. How much weight should you attribute to the findings? How large/thorough was the study?
4. Is the information relevant to your arguments?
Sources don't have to be perfect but you should consider how much weight to give them in making your arguments.
Reading Articles
You don't have to read scholarly articles from top to bottom. Each section will provide you with different types of information.
Abstract - provides a summary of the article. Read this first to determine if the content is relevant to you.
Discussion and Conclusion - summarizes key findings and why they are important. This will tell you if the information is relevant and help you understand how the article might support your arguments.
Introduction - provides background on the topic of the article. This can help you understand the context of your research question and give you ideas for new avenues of exploration.
Literature review - describes previous research on the topic. This can help you identify additional articles.
Methods and results - describes how the study was conducted and what it found. This can help you evaluate the research and determine how much weight to apply to the study.
Example
APA
Article:
Lastname, A.A. & Lastname, B.B. (Year). Title of article: Capitals for proper nouns like Calgary and after punctuation. Journal Title in Italics, vol(iss), page-page. https://doi.org/10.xxxx.xxxxx
Hing, N., Lamont, M., Vitartas, P., & Fink, E. (2015). Sports bettors’ responses to sports-embedded gambling promotions: Implications for compulsive consumption. Journal of Business Research, 68(10), 2057–2066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.03.003
Book:
Lastname, A.A., Lastname, B.B. & Lastname, C.C. (Year). Title of book in italics: Same capitalization rule as article. Publisher.
Mallios, W. S. (2011). Forecasting in financial and sports gambling markets : Adaptive drift modeling. Wiley.
Book Chapter:
Lastname, A.A. (Year). Title of chapter: Not in italics. In A.A. Edlastname & B.B. Edlastname (Eds.), Title of book: In italics (pp. ##-##). Publisher. https://doi.org/10.XXXXX.XXXXX
Kaburakis, A. (2012). European Union law, gambling, and sport betting. European Court of Justice jurisprudence, member states case law, and policy. In J. Soek, R.C.R. Siekmann, I.S. Blackshaw, & P. Anderson (Eds.), Sports betting: Law and policy (pp. 27–97). T.M.C. Asser Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-799-9_4
In-Text Citations:
(Lastname & Lastname, Year)
MLA
Article:
Lastname, Firstname and Firstname Lastname. "Title of Article in Capital Case: Not Italicized." Title of Journal in Italics, vol. XX, no. XX, year, pp. XX-XX. Library Database Name, doi
Hing, Nerilee, et al. “Sports Bettors’ Responses to Sports-Embedded Gambling Promotions: Implications for Compulsive Consumption.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 68, no. 10, 2015, pp. 2057-66. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.03.003.
Book:
Lastname, Firstname. Title in Italics: No Quotation Marks. Publisher, Year. Database if Ebook, DOI or URL.
Gould, Ronald. Mathematics in Games, Sports, and Gambling : The Games People Play. CRC Press, 2010.
Book Chapter:
Lastname, Firstname, et al. "Chapter Title in Quotation Marks." Book Title in Italics, edited by Firstname Lastname and Firstname Lastname, Publisher, year, pp. XX-XX.
Kaburakis, Anastasios. “European Union Law, Gambling, and Sport Betting. European Court of Justice Jurisprudence, Member States Case Law, and Policy.” Sports Betting: Law and Policy, edited by Janwillem Soek, et al., T.M.C. Asser Press, 2012, pp. 27–97. Springer Ebooks, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-799-9_4.
In-text Citations:
(Lastname and Lastname page)
Practice
Complete the following steps, recording each in this Padlet: https://padlet.com/bjackson70/gned-1401-evaluating-sources-j7vuezg5s81iv05d
1. Pick a broad topic and narrow it down a bit. Use Google, Wikipedia, or your own knowledge of the topic. It doesn't have to be precise at this point but it should be something that you can create an argument about. (e.g. Fluoride in drinking water; Canadian content regulations and streaming services)
2. Create a search string. e.g. fluoride AND water AND (dental OR teeth)
3. Find a scholarly source in the library using your search string. Record a citation for the source using APA or MLA style
4. Evaluate the source. How do you know it's a scholarly source?
5. Read parts of the source (e.g. abstract and conclusion). Create a one or two sentence persuasive argument using the source as evidence.
