Skip to Main Content

Introduction to the Research Process

Evaluating Sources

Evaluate each source carefully to be sure it is accurate and reliable.

Types of Periodicals

In general, there are three types of periodicals: popular magazines, trade or professional sources and scholarly, professional, or refereed journals. The type of periodical you use will depend on the type of information you need.

The following chart lists the typical characteristics that differentiate these three kinds of periodicals. Keep in mind, however, that some periodicals defy easy categories.

 

Popular

Trade/Professional

Scholarly (refereed or peer-reviewed)

Publisher

commercial firm

commercial firm or association

university or association
(large scientific & academic publishers)

Frequency of Publication

weekly, biweekly or monthly

weekly, biweekly or monthly

Quarterly

Intended Audience

general readers

special readers
(persons employed in that field)

special readers
(academics and researchers)

Appearance

colorful, illustrated

colorful, illustrated

plain, mostly text

Article Type

short, nontechnical
with photos and graphics

short, technical
with photos and graphics

long, research style
with tables and charts

Writing Style

informal, journalistic

informal, journalistic

formal and/or scientific

Authors

staff writers

staff writers and persons employed in that field

academics and researchers

News Content

covers broad issues and popular and/or business affairs

covers narrow trade or professional issues

no news coverage

Advertising

ads for business or consumer products

ads for specialized trade/professional products and services

ads for books, if any

Research Apparatus

none

none

extensive bibliographies and advanced statistics

Examples

Sports Illustrated, People, Newsweek, National Geographic

Advertising Age, Variety, Women's Wear Daily

Animation Journal, American Art Journal, Burlington

How to Evaluate Information

SIFT is a helpful acronym for initially evaluating source credibility. SIFT (from Mike Caulfield) stands for:

  • STOP. Pause and ask yourself if you recognize the information source and if you know anything about the website or the claim's reputation. If not, use the four techniques (below) to learn more.
  • INVESTIGATE the source.
    Take a minute to identify where this information comes from and to consider the creator's expertise and agenda. Is this source worth your time? Look at what others have said about the source to help with you these questions.
  • FIND trusted coverage.
    Sometimes it's less important to know about the source and more important to assess their claims. Look for credible sources; compare information across sources and determine whether there appears to be a consensus.
  • TRACE claims, quotes, and media back to the original context.
    Sometimes online information has been removed from its original context (for example, a news story is reported on in another online publication or an image is shared on Twitter). If needed, trace the information back to the original source in order to recontextualize it. 

Modified from Mike Caulfield's SIFT (Four Moves), which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.