UNIV 104 article evaluation Assignment

  

Doing   research is not for the faint of heart. It takes careful thought and   planning, diligence, and a detective’s mindset. Carefully review Chapter 8 in   your textbook before starting this assignment.

Locate > evaluate > use

This assignment will guide you through the steps of locating a credible source for a topic for a pretend paper. You will find an article, evaluate the article, and demonstrate that you can properly cite your article. You MUST use the Jerry Falwell Library for your research. Also, be sure to watch the videos that are integrated throughout the assignment as they will provide you with valuable information. All yellow boxes must be addressed, and don’t forget to sign your name at the bottom of the assignment.

STEP 1: Preparing to Search

Topic Selection

  

Mark your topic selection with an “X”

☐Time Management 

☐Learning Preferences 

☐Adult Learning Theory

☐Academic Integrity 

Finding your Focus

It is important to define your topic by determining your focus and selecting keywords to help narrow your search. Otherwise, you will end up with millions of possible articles.

  

What specific aspect of this topic are you interested in researching? 

Ex.:  The topic of academic integrity can be narrowed   to avoiding plagiarism, integrity in the online classroom, or cheat sites.

What are you hoping to find regarding    your topic?

 

Determining   Keywords – VIDEO TUTORIAL 

 

List the three keywords or phrases that first come to mind to use as   search terms.

Hint: The general term/phrase listed above should be included as one of   your five keywords 

List the keywords or phrases, separated by    commas. 

 

List four other synonyms or different phrases that you might also use in   your search.  

Consider using a thesaurus or finding keywords / phrases from the results   of your initial searches

List    synonyms or additional phrasing, again separated by commas. 

STEP 2: Locating a Source

Now that you have focused your topic and determined your possible search terms, it is time to locate and evaluate an article for your pretend research paper. Don’t forget to use the Jerry Falwell Library.

  

Using the Library Databases – VIDEO TUTORIAL 

 

Find a Database to use

· If you are familiar with the databases, choose one that is specific to   your topic. 

· If you are unfamiliar with the   databases, try using a general one like Academic   Search Complete or ProQuest Central

Enter name of database used here 

 

Select one of your keywords and run a preliminary search.

 

How many sources did your initial search return? 

Enter the number of results here 

      

STOP!

Did you find thousands or millions of results? Even if your search only returned a couple thousand or a few hundred, that is too many to look through. You must work to narrow results to focus on the specific aspect of your topic. Your article must be relevant to your SPECIFIC topic; you don’t want just ANY article that mentions your broad topic.

  

Narrowing and Using Filters – VIDEO TUTORIAL  

 

Each database offers various filters, usually on the left side of the   screen.  Adjust the date options to the   last five years and check the box that returns full-text articles. Be sure to   set your search parameters to look for peer-reviewed articles only, not   e-books, newspapers, or videos.

List all    filters and parameters that you used in your search

 

Try out some Boolean Operators or Wildcards.  Hint – find search tips   here.

Describe    the tools that you used to limit your results 

 

It is usually necessary to alter search terms. Try out a few different   ones to see which is most efficient and relevant. 

List your most effective search terms here 

 

Continue to repeat your search, adjusting your search terms, tools, and   parameters until you get a manageable number of results.

How many results did you have in your final, most narrowed search?

Enter the    number of results from your FINAL search

 

~ Choose one relevant,   focused article  to use in your pretend   paper~

  

  

What is the   title of your article?

Article    Name 

 

What is the   name of the journal in which your article was   published?

Publication Name

 

Paste the   permalink for this article in the box. Use this tutorial if you are   unsure how to locate or create the permalink: http://www.liberty.edu/library/persistent-links-tutorial/

Enter    the permalink here.

 

How does this   article relate to your specific topic? Provide details.

Article’s    relation to the overall topic

       

Step 3: Evaluating the Article 

  

Evaluating Sources –VIDEO TUTORIAL 

Currency

  

In what year was your article published?

Enter Year here

Is this a current article?

☐ Yes ☐ No

 

Why is it important that your source was published within the last 5 years?

Importance regarding article’s publication date 

Author’s Credibility

  

Who is/are the author(s)?

Author(s) 

 

How is/are the author(s) qualified to write this   article? You may need to conduct a Google search to find out more about your author(s). Look   at experience, education, etc.

Author’s or authors’ qualifications

Peer Review

  

What is peer-review and why is it important?

Define peer    review and explain its importance 

 

Is your article peer-reviewed? 

How do you know?

☐ Yes ☐ No

Explain your     response 

Style 

  

Does the article include references to other   publications? If so, how many? 

This information is often available on the article   information page.

☐ Yes ☐ No

Enter # here 

Is this a scholarly article or a popular article?

☐ Scholarly (journals,   technical publication, etc.)

☐ Popular (magazine,   trade journal, etc.)

 

Is the language technical and full of jargon or more   general in nature? Provide an example (direct quote).

☐ Technical ☐ General  

Provide a direct quote from the    article proving its technical or general style

  

Objectivity

  

Do(es) the author(s) display any bias? 

☐ Yes ☐ No

Explain    your response.  

 

Do(es) the author(s) address alternative viewpoints?

☐ Yes ☐ No

Explain your response.

 

Is the article objective or subjective?

Explain    your response. 

Summative Evaluation

  

Based on the answers above, would this be considered   a credible, scholarly source that could work for your pretend paper?

Why or why not?

☐ Yes

☐ No

Explain why this article would    or would not work for your pretend paper.

Using the Article

  

Avoiding plagiarism involves knowing how to properly cite any source   information that is used inside your paper. Here is one of the best websites   for APA formatting:  Purdue OWL 

  

In-Text Citation 

 

Two things to know:

1. A signal phrase is necessary to distinguish between the writer’s thoughts   and those of a source (utilized for direct quote, summary, or paraphrase).   APA signal phrases use author’s last name(s), the year of publication, and   past-tense verbs that should fit the context of the paper. Examples include:

A. As Smith (2004)   concluded, 

B. Johnson and Wales (2011)   also asserted that

C. According to Stevens (2014), 

2. APA requires that a page number be provided for all directly quoted   material. It belongs in parenthesis after the quoted material but before the   period. Examples include:

A. (p. 171).

B. (Smith, 2004, p. 171).

SAMPLE APA in-text use with signal   phrase, quotation and ending citation:

Miars and Ford (2012)   argued that “time management is one of the key foundations regarding student   success” (p. 24).

 

Select a specific quotation from your selected   article and show how you would integrate the quote into your paper using a signal phrase, proper punctuation, and APA in-text citation.

Create a signal phrase, properly    write a direct quote, and end with an ending citation.

  

  

Reference Entry

 

In addition to properly citing sources within the paper, you must also properly cite the source on the   Reference Page so others can confirm your research. The reference entry   contains publication information for the entire article as well as a DOI   (digital object identifier), permalink or database name to identify the   retrieval source.

à SAMPLE APA reference citation with   DOI:

Sagarin, B. J., & Lawler-Sagarin, K. A. (2005). Critically evaluating   competing theories: An exercise based on the Kitty Genovese murder. Teaching of Psychology, 32(3),   167–169. https://doi.org/10.1207/ s15328023top3203_8

à SAMPLE APA reference citation without   DOI:

Reitzes, D. C., & Mutran, E. J. (2004). The transition to retirement:   Stages and factors that influence retirement adjustment. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 59(1),   63-84. Retrieved from Academic Search   Complete

 

Create an APA reference entry for your selected article.

Note: Many databases have a “cite”   function that will give you a good start to your entry, but be sure to   double-check the details with proper APA formatting.

Additional help   regarding APA citations can be found using the links at Purdue OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/  

Create    the citation for this article using proper APA formatting

The above work was completed by the person whose name appears below: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Name: Enter Your Name  Here.   Date:  Click or tap to enter a date.

Submit this assignment by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 5.