Print out two Checklists - one for Article One, Book One, and Website One. Another for Article Two, Book Two, and Website Two.
Examine resources and circle Yes or No where appropriate.
CHECKLIST OF SCHOLARLY CHARACTERISTICS
Books
|
Scholarly |
Non-Scholarly |
Is the author / editor an expert in his/her field? |
Yes |
No |
Is there a bibliography at end of chapters or the end of the book? |
Yes |
No |
Does the book contain footnotes? |
Yes |
No |
Does the overall tone/content appear scholarly? |
Yes |
No |
Articles
|
Scholarly |
Non-Scholarly |
Is there an author? |
Yes |
No |
Is there more than one author/editor? |
Yes |
No |
Is the author / editor an expert in his/her field? |
Yes |
No |
Is there a DOI (Digital Object Identifier)? |
Yes |
No |
Are the articles long? (5 or more pages?) |
Yes |
No |
Is the emphasis on text? (Few if any pictures) |
Yes |
No |
Are there charts and graphs? |
Yes |
No |
Is there a bibliography at the end? |
Yes |
No |
Does it contain footnotes? |
Yes |
No |
Does the overall tone/content appear scholarly? |
No |
No |
Web Sites
Websites are seldom “scholarly.” Instead the user often has to choose between a source of “reliable” and “unreliable” information.
|
Reliable |
Unreliable |
Is the person or organization responsible for the website identified? |
Yes |
No |
Does the website cite its sources? |
Yes |
No |
Is the person or organization responsible for the website an expert in the content presented on the site? |
Yes |
No |
Does it cite reliable sources to support its argument? |
Yes |
No |
Does it sound open minded and fair? |
Yes |
No |
Is the general appearance of the website (graphics/spelling) well maintained and of good quality? |
Yes |
No |
Does it avoid commercialism? |
Yes |
No |
Few resources check all the Yes boxes or all the No boxes.
Many resources will exhibit a mixture of characteristics.
If unsure about an article or book, the most important characteristics of "scholarliness," is the presence of a bibliography.
What is peer reviewed? Some publications have editorial boards consisting of experts in the field who review articles for reliablilty and scholarship.
1. Avoid the internet.
2. Use Thrift Library Resources.
3. Limit your results to Peer Reviewed. (See below)
4. Determine that your resource contains most of the characteristics listed on the checklist to your left.
In an electronic environment it is not always possible to tell if an article is peer-reviewed by looking at the article. It is easier to limit your results to Peer-reviewed Journals in OneSearch with an easy click so that you are only looking at articles published in peer reviewed journals.
However...