What Not To Do
Evaluating Research Sources
It is important to both organize and evaluate the research you have gathered for a particular topic. An annotated bibliography is an excellent tool for tracking these sources.
Annotations help us:
· Understand how each source contributes to the topic.
· See how sources relate to each other.
· Discover critical explanations on usefulness of sources.
Scholarella knows that all sources are not created equal. Selecting the right sources for a topic requires time, critical thinking and careful decision-making.
Scholarella: I am glad I gave myself plenty of time to find the right sources for this project. The library databases are great, but it takes time to find the best materials. Well, at least there are tools like Refworks that help keep everything straight.
Shortcut Kate does not develop a search strategy which makes it hard for her to find content that is aligned with her topic.
Shortcut Kate: Oh, man! I still need to find some articles for that annotated bibliography. I can not believe this thing is due already. Oh well... (sings to the tune of "Sounds of Silence") "Hello Google my old friend, I hope you will rescue me again... because the project that was assigned... is a pain in my behind... and the answers that are going to save my hide... are hard to find... without the help of Google."
Scholarella knows a thorough review of the article will allow her to understand its purpose, value and usefulness for her topic.
Scholarella: I was sure that this article was going to be useful to my research when I read the abstract, but now I am not so sure... there are a number of problems with the way the author set up his study. I am actually pretty skeptical about his findings after reading the whole thing.
Shortcut Kate does not bother reading the articles she finds for an annotated bibliography and is unable to accurately determine their usefulness.
Shortcut Kate: Hey... if the abstract is good enough for the editor of this journal, it should be good enough for Professor Rockler.
Scholarella includes key information about the source in each annotation. This will save her time later because she will be able to decide which sources to use in her research.
Scholarella: Okay... I have described the research methodology, how big the sample group was... oh, right... the demographics. Let us see what else Professor Rockler wants to know about this... oh, right... where the study was held – you know I think it is pretty significant that it was about Muslim women in Great Britain..
Shortcut Kate fails to include key data from the source, so she will waste time later reviewing the material for crucial details.
Shortcut Kate: All righty, then... "this article explores Muslim womens motivations for pursuing higher education. The authors also discuss the effect advanced education may have on their future relationships and lifestyle." That should do it... what next? Oh, yeah... how useful the article will be.
Credits
Subject Matter Expert:
Joyce Johnson, PhD, HS-BCP
Interactive Design:
Kate Bendzick
Instructional Design:
Peter Lindner
Media Instructional Design:
Felicity Pearson
Project Management:
Laura Rosene
A/V Project Management:
Julie Greunke
Talent:
Kate Eifrig
Music:
"Merry Go", "Iron Horse", "Amazing Plan" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
doctoralstudent
media_presentation_transcript.docx
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