QEN 102 What is Your Lens?

What does it mean for a source to be credible and why is this important?  Find out by watching this short video.

Notes from this video:

• A credible source is high quality & trustworthy.

• The author's intentional bias & unintentional bias are both important to consider.

• Sources that undergo the peer review process are considered high quality.

Are you having trouble determining whether you have a good source that is applicable for your research paper?  Remember the acronym CRAAP (You can say it, don't worry!).  The terms currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, & purpose will help you evaluate your sources.

Is there one perfect source out there for the paper you are writing?  Is finding this one perfect source the best strategy for completing your research?  What other methods might work instead?  Find out the answers by watching this nifty video.

Notes from this video:

• Finding a topic for a research paper can be challenging.

• There may not be an article in academic literature that addresses your exact topic.  This is okay!

• Try breaking up your topic into subtopics.

• Try using synonyms or other related terms.

• You may need to use a variety of source types.

• Your job, as a researcher, is to tie sources together in order to form an argument. You can do it!

Your professor may ask you to write a paper using qualitative sources or perhaps s/he will ask you to write a paper using quantitative sources instead.  Alternatively, your professor might ask you to write a paper using both.  This short video clip will explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative research.

Notes from this video:

• Quantitative research is based on (A) Statistics, (B) Numerical Data, (C) Surveys, & (D) Experiments.

• Qualitative research is based on (A) Interviews, (B) Case studies, & (C) Loose observations.

Primary sources and secondary sources are both useful for research papers.  This short video clip will explain the differences between both types of sources and how to use them in your research paper as well.

Notes from this video:

(Click on each topic for more info)

What are non-scholarly journals and what purpose do they serve?  How can they best be incorporated into your research paper?  Watch this short video clip to learn more.

Notes on this video:

• Articles in scholarly journals are highly authoritative because of (1) the peer review process & (2) the authors are experts in the field they are writing about.

• The purpose of scholarly journal articles is to (1) expand the understanding of the world & (2) improve career prospects for the writer.

• Not all scholarly journals are equally authoritative. 

Find out what the peer review process is and why it is important for accurate and dependable research.  Watch this short video clip to learn more.

Notes on this video:

• Some secondary sources like scholarly articles go through a process called peer review.

• This process ensures that the sources is authoritative or that it contains information that the reader can trust.

• Experts review and provide feedback to the author before a scholarly article can be published.

What are non-scholarly periodicals and how do they differ from scholarly journals?  How can they best be incorporated into your research paper?  Watch this short video clip to learn more.

Notes about this video:

• Non-scholarly periodicals are valuable because they provide information about topics that are too recent to appear in scholarly journals or books.

• Researchers must be more vigilant to determine bias & accuracy when using non-scholarly periodicals as a source.

Learn more about different types of websites and how you might be able to use them in your research by watching this short video clip.

Notes from this video:

• Websites can contain both authoritative & primary source material.

• Only a small percentage of websites contain authoritative information.

• Top Level Domains (TLDs) tell us what type of website we are dealing with and can be determined by the last part of the website's name, or the part that follows immediately after the "." symbol.  They include .com, .org, .edu, & .gov.

• A restricted TDL is a top level domain that only qualified entities can register for.

• Determining who owns the website is an important part in determining to what extend a website is more authoritative.

Social media is engrained many areas of or lives these days.  Is social media reliable enough to use in a research paper?  Find out by watching this short video clip.

Notes on this video:

• Social media can be used for a wide variety of primary source information.

• Social media should not be as a secondary source information.

Take a look at these helpful terms which are often used when learning about evaluating articles and other resources.

Peer review: A pre-publication process in which scholars, usually anonymously, review each other's work to improve its quality

Periodicals: Publications that come out on a regular schedule, like journals, magazines, or newspapers

Primary source: Original information used in analysis

Scholarly journal: A periodical containing articles written by and for scholars; almost always peer reviewed

Secondary source: A source that analyzes or interprets a primary source and is typically used in support of an argument

Authoritative: A way of describing sources whose accuracy can be trusted; scholarly journal articles and books tend to be highly authoritative.