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Dental Hygiene: Evaluating Sources

A guide for Rowland Medical Library's resources and services designed specifically for dental hygiene students

Evaluating Sources

What are article types? Why does it matter?

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Article Types - What article types will you include in your literature review? 

 

__Research articles

  • Research articles must include a methods or methodology section
  • Tip:  usually published in academic peer-reviewed journals
  • Find it: search research databases like PubMed, CINAHL
  • Need Help? Complete the Search Strategy Guide Worksheet.  Completing the search strategy worksheet will help you focus the concepts of your research topic and identify the precise terms and keywords necessary for database searching.
  •  Key Takeaway: You must successfully pinpoint 2-4 concepts to search the research databases!

 

__Review articles

  • Review articles are an author’s synopsis of a subject or topic
  • Tip: usually published in academic peer-reviewed journals
  • Find it: search research databases and databases that index industry publications like Academic Search Premier
  • Pro Tip: In some research databases, you can filter results to limit to review articles

 

__Systematic Review articles

  • a research methodology that is a synthesis of all available research on a topic to answer a specific research question 
  • high level on the hierarchy of evidence pyramid
  • Tip: usually published in academic peer-reviewed journals
  • Find it: search research databases PubMed or Cochrane Library
  • Pro Tip: In some research databases, you can filter results to limit to systematic reviews

 

__Articles in industry or trade publications

  • Articles from industry publications include reports on business, policy, and trends.
  • Audience is professionals in the field
  • Tip: can be magazines, “trade journals” website, or blog. RDH Magazine  is an example
  • Hint: articles in industry publications are not peer-reviewed.
  • Industry publications may occasionally include some original research, but research articles are usually published in academic peer-reviewed journals.
  • Find it:  Academic Search Premier, DOSS

 

__Editorials, opinion pieces, letters to editor articles

  • These articles are the opinion of the author. Never peer-reviewed
  • Tip: Evaluate the author’s credentials to determine reliability and value
  • Find it: You can find this category anywhere! Academic journals, industry publications, newspapers, websites, blogs, etc
  • Pro Tip: In some research databases, you can filter results to limit to editorials or letters

Information Sources

There are multiple formats and types of sources that you will discover as you begin your research. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each of these can help you make informed decisions. The chart below provides you with specific information about the variety of sources you will encounter during your research process and how to determine if its best suited for your research needs.

Information Source Utilization
(what to use the source for)		 Information Provided Pitfalls of Use
Books

-Comprehensive information about a given topic

-Background and historical information

-Bibliography of other sources

-Often places an even t into some sort of historical context

-Can provide broad overviews of an event

-Can be intended for a broad audience depending on the book, ranging from scholars to the general public 

-Dated information  

-Content level can range from general public to expert

-Bias or slant (dependent on the author)
Special Interest Magazines

-Current information

-Shorter, easy to understand articles

-Photographs and illustrations

 

-Is contained in long-form stories

-Weekly magazines begin to discuss the impact of an event on society, culture, and public policy

-Can include detailed analysis of events, interviews, as well as opinions and analysis

-Offers perspectives of an event from particular groups or geared toward specific audiences

-Is intended for a general audience or specific non-professional groups

-Authors are usually not experts

-Articles can lack depth

-Sources not always cited

-Editorial bias of a publication
 
Professional/Trade Magazines

-Specialized information related to a particular discipline or profession

-Current information

-Some bibliographies

-Is contained in long-form articles or reports

-May provide context and analysis of an event as it relates to a specific interest group

-Is intended for a professional organizations or groups with similar interests

-Article length can vary between short, easy to understand to lengthy and highly specific

-Sources not always cited

-Characteristics similar to both popular and scholarly sources sometimes make it difficult to recognize source type
Scholarly/Academic Journals

-In depth information

-Articles written by experts

-Charts and graphs

-Recent research on a topic

-Bibliographies of other sources

-Is often theoretical, carefully analyzing the impact of an event on society, culture and public policy

-Is peer-reviewed

-Often narrow in topic

-Is intended for other scholars, researchers, professionals and university students in the field

-Terminology and depth of articles may be difficult to understand by novices

-Dated information (sort your results by date if you are looking for the most recent information, as some journals extend back several decades)
Newspapers

-Daily information

-Localized information and events

-Beginning to apply chronology to an event and explain why the event occurred

-May include statistics, photographs and editorial coverage

-Includes quotes from experts, government officials, witnesses, etc.

-Is intended for a general audience		 -Authors usually not experts
Web Sites

-Government information

-Varied points of view on a topic

-Statistics

-Company information

-Is primarily provided through resources like Internet news sites when related to a specific event

-Explains the who, what, when and where of an event

-Is intended for a general audience

-Credibility and accuracy cannot be assured (check for author credentials, publication date, etc.)

-Information may be highly biased

-Sources not always cited

 

Evaluate Sources

Scholarly resources are, usually, the BEST sources to support your argument and/or support your claims. 
There are three main types of publications that may appear in your search results.  These are:
  • Scholarly sources -- intended for use in conducting in-depth research, often containing specialized vocabulary and extensive references to sources. The content has been reviewed by academic peers to ensure the reliability of the methods used and the validity of findings. Scholarly sources help answer the "So What?" question in academic writing and lay the foundation for discovering connections between variables, issues, or events.
  • Popular sources -- intended for a general audience of readers, they are written typically to entertain, inform, or persuade. Popular sources help you answer who, what, when, and where questions and are essential for finding information about current events or issues. Popular sources range from research-oriented [but lacking complete citations to sources] to special interest, agenda-driven publications.
  • Trade publications -- intended to share general news, trends, and opinions among practitioners in a certain industry or profession. Although generally written by experts, they are not considered scholarly because they are not peer-reviewed and do not focus on advancing new knowledge discovery or reporting research results. Trade journals, however, are an essential source of information in the field of business and specialized industries [e.g., tourism, environmental studies, agriculture, manufacturing, etc.].

 

**Adapted from USCLibraries Research Guide: Organizing your Social Sciences Research Paper, 2019 

Use the chart below to help you evaluate your source's publication type. 

 

**Conisius,College, A.L. Bouwhuis Library, Scholarly vs. Popular Resources, 2020

Credit: Lauren Fletcher, Rowland Medical Library

Use the TRAAP acronym to help ensure that you are utilizing a scholarly or authoritative article.  

 

Timeliness
Is the date of the publication evident?
Is the currency of the information crucial to your research?
Purpose
Why is the information being provided?
Are sources cited?
Are charts, graphs, tables, and bibliographies included?
Are research claims documented?
Are conclusions based on evidence provided?
Authors
Are the author's names included?
Are the author's credentials provided?
Are the credentials relevant to the information provided?
Audience
Who is the intended audience?
Is the language geared towards the knowledge of the specific discipline or the general public?
Publishers
Who is the publisher?
Is the publisher an academic institution, scholarly, or professional organization?
Is their purpose for publishing the source evident? 
Even after you have found a scholarly article that follows TRAAP it can be hard to determine if it is quality medical/allied health research.  Ask yourself the following questions and use the infographic on the left to help you determine if it is quality research. 

 

  • Was the research well-conducted? 
  • Is the research question clearly stated?
  • Is there evidence of a clear search strategy of previous literature?
  • Is the study design appropriate?
  • Is it clear how the study population was sampled and is the sample representative?
  • How was the data collected?
  • What is the reliability and validity of the data collected?
  • Were confounding influences and biases considered?
  • Does the data justly the conclusions drawn?
  • Does the study add any new knowledge to the subject area
  • Has the work been published in a peer-reviewed journal?
  • Has the study obtained and followed ethical approvals and standards?

 

** Fawkes C, Ward E, Carnes D. (2015).  What evidence is good evidence? A Masterclass in critical appraisal.  International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, 18(2), 116-129. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijom.2015.01.002
The most common structure for a research article follows the IMRAD acronym: Introduction, Methods, Results, & Discussion. 
Use the following graphic to help you determine if your source is a research article. 

** Clayton Bingham, 2018. Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California.