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Forest Economics 473
Evaluating Information
Sept. 20, 2011
Academic Publications
Contain bibliographies and citations to indicate original source of information in the article Can be published in electronic or paper journalsOften have a narrow content focus
Academic Publications
Known as scholarly, academic, or peer-reviewed articlesReport of review current scholarly research findingsPeer reviewedTarget audience: University students, professionals and researchers in the field
Evaluating Academic Publications
Cannot simply accept that all published research is QUALITY researchYellow Handout: “Characteristics used to judge the quality of a published paper”
Evaluating Academic Publications
Some basic things to consider:Is there bias? What is the publication date? What is the reputation of the author?Who does the author work for? What is the reputation of journal or
publisher?
As your expertise grows, you can also ask . . .
Are the objectives and statement of the problem clear? Is the language and structure of the paper clear?Is the quantity, quality, and validity of the data acceptable?Is the methodology clearly described and appropriate?Do the conclusions and interpretations follow from the data presented?
Newspapers/Magazines
Purpose is to entertain (as well as inform) Target audience: general public (Gr.6)Rarely cite information source (no bibliography)Content controlled by editors / advertisersOften have a well-recognized bias
Evaluating Newspapers / Magazines
Variability of quality in terms of correctness of information. Ranges from very high to very low Focus on date, author reputation, publisher reputation Find primary sources or multiple verifications for “facts” included. Use for public opinion, current trends, rapidly changing information (such as prices) rather than as source of research data
Websites
Completely uncontrolled – created and mounted by anyone for any purposeHuge variations in information quality and target audiencesMay or may not cite information sources Good information on web is often not free
Evaluating Websites
VERY IMPORTANT TO CAREFULLY EVALUATEhttp://www.dhmo.org/
Cream Cream Handout: Evaluating Web Resources Checklist http://www.library.ualberta.ca/instruction/science/evalweb.pdf
Part 2: Resources to Consider
Good places to start:Library Catalogue: Don’t forget about books! Library home page subject links to Databases and Resource Guides
Databases-Scholarly
CAB AbstractsAgricolaWeb of Science USDA Forest Service Database(FS Database)Scirus
Database-Canadian News
Canadian Newsstand – full text of major Can. newspapers
CBCA Full Text Reference - full text of newspapers, magazines and
journals
Canada Newswire – full text of Can. Business news
CPI.Q – full text of Globe and Mail; indexes Can.
and Int’l periodicals
Websites
Canadian forests-Forest Industries Directory Website: http://www.canadian-forests.com/forest_industries.html
Natural Resources Canada:http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/com/
Citing References
To help you with your references and bibliography, the University of Alberta has subscribed to RefWorks.What is RefWorks? It is a web-based citation manager that helps you to build a database of references, organize your references and then use them in your papers. It will construct a bibliography based on the citations you have put in your paper
Citing References
To access RefWorks, go to:www.RefWorks.com
ORhttp://www.guides.library.ualberta.ca/refworks
You can access this service anytime, anywhere at no cost or fee.
Tips for Citing References
Use any citation guide for assignment, but you must be consistent.U of A Library Research GuidesForestry specific citation styles,d.g., Can J Forest Research http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/journal/cjfr
