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Research Guides

HIS 265: Black Canadian History

When choosing books or articles for your paper, consider the following:

  • Are they relevant to your topic, and the argument that you wish to make?
  • Are they current? Some of your sources should reflect current research.
  • Are they substantial? Beware of an article that is only a couple of pages.
  • Are they scholarly?? Distinguish between popular and scholarly sources

Scholarly journal articles report on original research by experts in a particular academic discipline. Often they go through a peer-review process, which means that they are evaluated by reputable scholars in the field before they are published.

Criteria for evaluating scholarly journals

Author: Who wrote it? What are their credentials?
Sources: Does the author acknowledge his or her sources? How?
Content: Is the content substantial?
Does it appear to be valid and well-researched?
Does it make sense, based on your own background knowledge, or what other articles have to say on the topic?
Writing: Is the language scholarly?
Is the article well written?
Do illustrations and data support the content in a scholarly fashion, or do they appear to be attention-getting, or sensational?
Audience:

Who is the article written for?  
Is it written for experts and researchers in the field, or for members of the general public?
Journal: Is it published in a scholarly journal?

RADAR (Rationale, Authority, Date, Accuracy, and Relevance)

Another helpful way to evaluate the credibility of an information source is through the framework RADAR (Rationale, Authority, Date, Accuracy, and Relevance). See the guide for using RADAR for more detailed guidelines about how to evaluate the quality and usefulness of an information source for your research

Adapted from: Mandalios, J. (2013). RADAR: An approach for helping students evaluate Internet sources. Journal of Information Science, 39(4), 470–478.

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