Evaluating journal articles

Outline What are journal articles? – parts of a journal, peer-review and abstracts Techniques for evaluating articles Journal impact factors Further Help

What are journal articles? Parts of a journal, peer-review, abstracts

What are journal articles? ‘Journals are ‘magazines’ where researchers publish their work in the form of short papers or articles Sometimes referred to as scholarly journals, academic journals or periodicals Usually published monthly or quarterly in volumes and issues so contain more current research than books Many articles published in journals are peer-reviewed - evaluated by other researchers before being published sometimes known as refereed articles

What is peer review? Author sends article to journal editor Editor sends article to researchers in same subject for reviewing Researchers evaluate article (anonymously) – may suggest revisions Not everything in a peer reviewed journal is peer reviewed – scholarly journals also include editorials, book reviews, news articles, and opinion columns which are not peer reviewed  Article is published after it meets the researchers and editors standards – rejected if not met Therefore, articles accepted for publication should represent the best research in a subject area

How to find peer-reviewed articles? Search Birkbeck elibrary databases - most databases include peer-reviewed journals Read the ‘About’ pages on the databases to find information about peer reviewed articles and how a database defines a peer reviewed journal Databases will have a tick-box that allows you to limit your search results to peer-reviewed only or to scholarly journals only It’s still important to do your own evaluation of an article regardless of where you found it

Parts of a journal article Journal title Article title Abstract Keywords Article introduction Parts of a journal article

Parts of a journal article pt. 1 Journal articles are made up of connected parts – together these parts tell a ‘story’ about a piece of research Title – concise statement of research investigated in article Abstract – paragraph after the title and before main body of article. It summarises the entire article for the reader. Keywords – short list of words/phrases that describe the topic of the article, sometimes chosen by the author sometimes chosen by the journal

Parts of a journal article pt. 2 Introduction – introduces the topic of the article and explains what the article adds to existing knowledge on topic Literature Review – summary of who and what has been previously studied on this topic as well as areas that require further research Methods and Data – types of data or experiments used by author/s to test their hypothesis and what method was used to analyse the data, e.g. qualitative, (interviews, observation, ethnographic etc.), or quantitative (statistics, mathematical models)

Parts of a journal article pt. 3 Methods/Data – types of data or experiments used by author/s to test their hypothesis and what method was used to analyse the data, i.e. qualitative, (interviews, observation, ethnographic etc.), or quantitative (statistics, mathematical models) Discussion/Conclusion – states concisely what findings of article’s research are and what they contribute to knowledge in subject area References – list including citation details of all articles and books cited within the article

Reading abstracts Most abstracts feature four types of information: Purpose - the rationale for study or the why? Methodology – how the study was conducted Results – what the article’s research found Conclusion – what the article’s research means Look for these four types of information when reading article abstracts

Library databases, Discover and Google Scholar Where to search? Library databases, Discover and Google Scholar

Use the right database for your search Library resources by subject – find a list of databases most relevant to your subject 2. A-Z list of databases – all library databases on eLibrary page of Birkbeck library website

Why use library databases? Find information not freely available on the internet Find information which has been assessed for quality by scholars and researchers Find more relevant information more quickly with powerful search tools

Discover (Articles & more) The Library’s Google (sort of)! Access via the Catalogue or eLibrary Searches across all of Birkbeck’s electronic holdings, taking in theses, journals, databases and e-books (theoretically)

Google Scholar Databases select journals to index on their reputation in their field – Google Scholar finds journal articles from wherever it can Sometimes full-text is available, (although may not be final published versions and may not be peer-reviewed) Limited control over your search results From the Settings tab, set the Library Links to Birkbeck so Google Scholar search results direct you the full-text @ Birkbeck

Evaluating Journal articles

The 5 ‘W’ s Who wrote this? What is the purpose of the resource? When was the resource published? Where is the information from? Why is this resource reliable?

The CRAAP Test

The CRAAP Test Currency: When was the information published? Is it up to date? Relevance: Is the information what you're really looking for? Who is the material written for: academics, professionals, students, or the general public? Authority: Who published, wrote, or edited the information? Is the author an expert on the topic? Accuracy: Is the information reliable and accurate? Do other sources verify this information? Purpose: What is the purpose of the information? Is it biased to one point of view? https://youtu.be/_M1-aMCJHFg

Currency: Publication date Authority: Author’s institution details Evaluating journal articles When deciding to read an article, ask yourself if the article has: Authority? Accuracy? Currency? Is the author affiliated with a reputable university or organization? Has the author published other articles or books? Is the journal peer-reviewed? Is the publisher well known?

Does the article cite references or have footnotes or a bibliography? Accuracy: References and Footnotes Does the article cite references or have footnotes or a bibliography? Is the article illustrated with graphs and tables that present research data?

How to read a journal article pt. 1 Most journals articles use this structure: 1. Introduction 2. Method 3. Results 4. Discussion Skim read these four article ‘parts’ and pick out author’s main points from the subordinate points Look at title, abstract, keywords Note any visuals, (figures, tables etc.) in the article Read first and last sentences of Introduction Look for words or phrases: ‘unexpected’, ‘surprising’, ‘in contrast with previous work’, ‘we propose’, ‘we hypothesise’ etc.

How to read a journal article pt. 2 As you read, ask yourself questions about the article, before, during and after your reading: Before and During your reading: Who are the authors? What journal is this in? Can I question the article’s credibility? Do I understand the terminology used? Is there another article I can read that can help me understand this article better? After your reading: What specific problem does this article address? Why is the problem addressed in article important? What method is used? Is it a good method? What are the findings? Are they unique? Can the findings be summarized? Are findings supported with convincing evidence? Take notes of your questions as you’re reading

Checklist can be found in our printed leaflet on ‘Finding and using information’ and in our Library & Information Skills Moodle module

Exercise…

Measuring academic impact Journal impact factors, author/article citation analysis

What are journal impact factors? A measure of the frequency in which the average article in a journal is cited in a particular year Referred to as IF (impact factor) or JIF (journal impact factor) Measure the impact of a journal, rather than the impact of individual articles Can be used as an indicator of which journals get higher citation rates. You can use them to identify key journal titles within a specific subject area

What are journal impact factors? A measure of the frequency in which the average article in a journal is cited in a particular year Referred to as IF (impact factor) or JIF (journal impact factor) Measure the impact of a journal, rather than the impact of individual articles Can be used as an indicator of which journals get higher citation rates so You can compare journals and identify key journal titles within a specific subject area

How to find journal impact factors? SCOPUS - the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Access via the eLibrary.  Chartered Association of Business Schools: Academic Journals Guide - for business journals https://charteredabs.org/academic-journal-guide- 2015/ Demo finding journal impact factors on SCOPUS and Chartered ABS guide The 2018 Chartered ABS guide is a paid for resource for registered users but the 2015 guide is freely accessible, recommended by our Management and Business subject librarian

How to find author/article citation analysis SCOPUS Web of Science Search by author or article/book title to see the frequency with which they have been cited in other works Can help you to evaluate how significant an author/work is in your subject area and also lead to other relevant sources to read

Further Help

Library and Information Skills Moodle module Online Moodle tutorials to help you with library research skills Section on Evaluating information Accessible from Library homepage or Moodle homepage Evaluation check list is also in the ‘Finding and using information’ leaflet available in the Library cc: Smabs Sputzer - https://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08

Help Desk & Subject Librarians Contact the Library Help Desk Open 8.30am – 11.45pm every day Tel: 020 7631 6063 Email: library-help@bbk.ac.uk Contact your Subject Librarian See Library Resources by Subject to find contact details

Questions? Charlotte Hobson Subject Librarian c.hobson@bbk.ac.uk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB60cBsPfng