Library

Research Overview

Jackie Sipes, Education Librarian

jsipes@temple.edu

Research Guide

guides.temple.edu/youthcultures

What are some of the characteristics of research articles?

What to look for

Author
Usually lengthy (5-20 pages)
Type of Publication (academic, scholarly, juried, or peer-reviewed journal)
Cites other sources
Reports on original research
May include charts, graphs, numbers, etc.

Research Articles

Reading Sources

Courtesy to your reader

Is my source relevant?

If it's a research study, make sure you understand the research question, methods, and results. Avoid just picking an article based on it's title or parts that seem like they might fit with your topic!

Annotated Bibliography

Describes why the source is useful for researching a particular topic or question

May critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of what the author is presenting.

Summarizes the author's main points.

Secondary & Web Sources

What to look for with secondary/web sources

Relevant to research question?
Author (journalist? scholar? researcher?)
Site purpose?
Audience?
'About us' link
What kind of publication is it? (newspaper, report from a research organization, magazine, blog, conference talk)

Search Demo

guides.temple.edu/youthcultures