Social Science HOMEWORK HELP

What is a scholarly or credible source?

A  scholarly   source  is one that has been “peer-reviewed” and is usually published by an academic journal. Peer-reviewed means that an article has been reviewed and accepted for publication by a panel of experts in the field. Often, these scholarly articles report the results of social science research studies and will have some or all of the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methods and Measures, Data Analysis, Results, and Discussion. Scholarly articles contain many citations because the researchers are building upon the work of researchers who came before. Scientists use the work of other researchers to formulate and test new research hypotheses, and in so doing, they slowly and deliberately extend our base of knowledge. This methodical approach to research is the very foundation of science!

Credible  sources are those that we can trust to provide original, unbiased, well-supported, and current information on a given topic. Scholarly sources are by their very nature credible. Other credible sources include works written by experts in the field, published documents from well-known research groups (e.g., Pew Research), and reports published by government agencies (e.g., NIH, CDC, Census Bureau, DoD) or other high-level institutions/associations (e.g., Mayo Clinic, APA, AMA).

Inappropriate and  non-credible sources would include popular websites (e.g., about.com, ehow.com, Wikipedia), social media posts, blog posts, or media outlets (e.g., Fox, MSNBC, WSJ, NY Times, Forbes, etc.). These sources do not always accurately report their findings and are sometimes prone to bias. If a website or article fails to report the credentials of the author and does not provide citations for the information contained in the article, chances are it is not a scholarly source and therefore should not be used. 

Articles that were published over a decade ago may also not be credible because there may be more current information available.

For more information, the UMGC Library has more information on how to evaluate your sources available at:  https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/credibility.cfm . You can also learn to distinguish among different types of journals by visiting the following resource:  https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/articles.cfm

Criteria

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Not Acceptable or Missing

Use of current sources

All 10 sources published within the past 5 years

(8 points)

8-9 sources published within the past 5 years

(6 points)

5-7 sources published within the past 5 years

(4 points)

Less than 5 sources published within the past 5 years

(2 points)

No sources published within the past 5 years

(0 points)

Use of credible and scholarly sources

All sources are credible

-and-

At least 5 are scholarly

-and-

Not more than 2 websites

(16 points)

8-9 sources are credible

-and-

At least 4 are scholarly

-and-

Not more than 2 websites

(12 points)

5-7 sources are credible

-and/or-

At least 2-3 are scholarly

-and/or-

Lists 3-4 websites

(8 points)

Less than 5 sources are credible

-and/or-

Less than 2 scholarly sources

-and/or-

Lists more than 4 websites

(4 points)

No scholarly sources

-and/or-

No scholarly sources

-or-

No submission

(0 points)

References in APA format

References correctly listed in APA format with few or no errors

(16 points)

References listed in APA format, but with several  minor errors

(12 points)

References listed in APA format, but with several major errors

(8 points)

Reference list is not formatted

(4 points)

No reference list submitted

(0 points)