Writing an Article Review

Remember book reviews?

• Bibliographic information– Author– Title

• Plot summary

• Your opinion: would you recommendthis book to others?

Book reviews vs. article reviews

• Includes author/title• Subject: often fiction

or leisure reading• Question—worth

reading for fun?• Audience:

fellow readers

• Gives bibliographic info (APA)

• Subject: information re: a profession/field of study

• Question—good information?

• Audience: professionals

What do people in your field read?

• Business—WSJ, HBR

• CJ—

• Medical—

• IT—

What do people in your field read?

If you don’t know,

how can you find out?

What do people in your field read?

• Ask them.

• Observe their “in” baskets.

• Check library shelves.

• Google; e.g, “criminal justice” journal orname of professional association

What is professional reading?

• What people in your field read

• Material written for people withbackground in the field

• Material published by a professional organization (e.g., AMA or SHRM)

Is Bennett’s article professional?

• Compare/contrast

Register article & Bennett’s article

Professional vs. general audience

• Have background or expertise

• Use jargon and technical terms

• Want details and/or new information

• Interested in technical information

• May have no background• Unfamiliar with jargon• Want the basics in “layman’s language”• May be confused or intimidated by technicalities

Professional reading…

• builds background, so you understand terms and concepts

• helps you stay current with–new methods–best practices–latest jargon

• helps you learn to think like an expert

Why do article reviews?

• To keep up with professional reading

Why do article reviews?

• To keep up with professional reading

• To show that you are familiar with the literature of your field

Why do article reviews?

• To keep up with professional reading

• To show that you know your field

• To cope with information overload

How much information?

1999—two exabytes (two billion gigabytes)

2002—five exabyles (five billion gigabytes)

How much information?

This is equivalent to half a million libraries the size of America’s Library of Congress, or about 800 megabytesper person per year.

How Much Information surveySchool of Information Management and Systems

UC Berkeley (2004)http://ko.offroadpakistan.com/writings/2004_02/information_overload.html

That is why reviews include

•article reviews•reviewer’s columns•reviews of the literature

(article reviews on steroids)

The point of a review….

• …is to describe the book/article's content and argument(s) and to [discuss] the presentation and its effectiveness, supported with some quotations … that illustrate the points you're making. A person who has not read the [article] should be able to decide, from what you have written, whether or not to read the [article].

• Amanda Graham; Guide for the Perplexed

Does the Bennis review…

• describe the book/article's content and argument(s)?

• discuss the presentation and its effectiveness?

• Provide support with quotations • Give enough information to let you

decide whether the article is worth reading?

• Amanda Graham; Guide for the Perplexed

To write an article review…

• Choose an article written for professionals.

• Read it critically.

• Summarize the content.

• Evaluate the content.

• Provide complete APA documentation.

Summarize the content

• Give an overview (generally 1-2 ¶s).

• Use more of your own words than the author’s.

• Provide transitions (connecting words) and generalizations to help your reader follow the content.

Evaluate the article

Questions you might consider:• What is the author’s purpose?• Is the purpose achieved?• Does the author have any special

credentials?• Do you find evidence of bias or inaccuracies?• How useful is the article?• How does it compare to others on the topic?

FAQs on Article Reviews

…covering “How do I find an article?” lastbecause you’ll have time for thatat the end of class

FAQ: How do I organize it?

• Introductionany relevant background about author or topic

• Summaryoverview of arguments

• Evaluationstrengths/weaknesses of articleyour reflections about the topic

• Conclusion• Reference list (APA citation)

FAQ: How do I start my review…

without saying something trite and obvious like

“The article I chose to write about is…” (yawn)

Sample intro: Bad Girl review

A formerly out-of-control teenager recounts her life-altering experiences at Peninsula Village, a residential treatment center in Tennessee that uses behavior-modification techniques to reform seriously troubled kids.

Bad Girl introduction (2)

. . . to reform seriously troubled kids.

Vona dictated most of her story; she has dyslexia and is barely able to read or write, though her memoir doesn't make it clear how much her learning disability contributed to her problems growing up in Connecticut….

Citation: Bad Girl review

Rev. of the book Bad girl: Confessions of a teenage delinquent. (2004). Kirkus Reviews 72: 532. Retrieved July 11, 2004, from MasterFILE Premier database.

FAQ: How do I end my review…

without saying something predictable and obvious like “this is a good article”or “this was fascinating (boring)”

(yawn)

Conclusion: Gunpowder review

This book will tell the reader all he could possibly wish to know about gunpowder, such as the fact that the Chinese did use gunpowder as a weapon. However, it is a mystery why Kelly added an epilogue dealing with the atomic bomb, which clearly is not a gunpowder weapon.

Conclusion (2): Gunpowder review

All in all, the book has a place on the shelves of the serious student of arms, armament and the never-ending search by man to develop more efficient ways of killing his neighbors.

For conclusions…

Consider questions like• What would this article add

to readers’ knowledge of thesubject?

• Was the author fair or biased?• What (if anything) makes this worth reading?

Gunpowder source

Kelly, J. (2003). Rev. of the book Gunpowder— alchemy bombards & pyrotechnics: The history of the explosive that changed the world. Military History, 21(3): 68-69. Retrieved July 11, 2004, from Academic Search Elite database.

FAQ: How do I find an article?

• To find a topic, look over magazines or go to a site like cnn.com or the sites recommended on the Research page of the course support site• Search electronic databases• Ask Susan or an instructor

FAQ: How do I find an article?

• If you search a database, skim article titles and abstracts

Abstract: Nursing Ethics lit review

This article provides an overview of the scarce international literature concerning nurses' attitudes to euthanasia. . . . Characteristics such as age, religion and nursing specialty have a significant influence on a nurse's opinion.

Abstract: Nursing Ethics lit review

Verpoort, C., Gastmans, C., De Bal, N.,

& de Casterlie. B. D. (2004, July).Nurses’ attitudes to euthanasia: A review of the literature. NursingEthics, 11(4):349-365.

FAQ: Is it professional?

Ask yourself:How close is it to the source?

News Brief (goal-setting)

According to recent research at Wharton, goal-setting can encourage cheating. Researchers advise managers who reward workers for achieving goals to be alert for unethical behavior.

Compare to the original:http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1017.cfm

Review of article (goal-setting)

… goal-setting also has a dark side to it, according to a recent research paper by a Wharton faculty member and two colleagues. In addition to motivating constructive behavior, goal setting— especially when it involves rewards— can motivate unethical behavior when people fall short of the goals they set or that are set for them. The relationship . . . is particularly strong when people fall just short of reaching the goal.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1017.cfm

Original Goal-Setting Article

Still not sure it’s professional?

Check out “Magazine or Journal?” athttp://www.millikin.edu/staley/pertype.html

FAQ: Log-in info for EBSCO?

Go to search.epnet.comLog in:

User ID: s7742903Password: password

Choose EBSCOhostWebChoose database(s)/Continue

FAQ: How do I search EBSCO?

• Fields• Limiters (full text,

peer-reviewed)

FAQ: How do I find CJ/legal…?

Go to www.kaplancollege.comClick on Faculty/Registered Students

User ID: DesMoinesLibrary Password: HD4321

Enter the UAH Salmon LibraryChoose Electronic ArticlesChoose Proquest Criminal Justice

Last name: desmoines Kaplan ID: DMS0105a

FAQ: More info on APA?

• See Hamilton Style Sheet• APA’s Publication Manual• www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html• www.dianahacker.com/• www.APAstyle.org• Citation Machine • www.landmark-project.com/citation_machine

FAQ: Model reviews?

Knowledge@Whartonhttp://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/

InformIT.comwww.informit.com (search for review)

Lit Review: Mass Media and Mental Illnesshttp://www.ontario.cmha.ca/content/about_mental_illness/mass_media.asp

FAQ: More help!

• word-crafter.net/CompII/articlereview.html