Earned Scholarly Average for the Humanities
"How can I tell if it is a scholarly source?"
Evaluating Books, Magazines, and Journals.
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This worksheet is a way to help you think about the scholarly worth of a source or, in other words, how reliable the source is as evidence to prove or disprove a thesis. Most scholars don't use a point system like this to figure out what a paper's E.S.A. (earned scholarly average) is.
Type of Source (Journal Article or Book):
Points |
Journal Article |
Book |
_____ |
Primary or Secondary: |
Primary or Secondary: |
|
|
3 points if original primary document. | Same as for journal articles. |
| 2 points if reprint of primary document. | ||
| 1 point if item contains excerpts from primary document. | ||
| No points if it does not contain primary document. | ||
______ |
Age of source: |
Age of Source: |
|
|
3 points if the article is 3 years or newer. | Same as for journal articles. |
| Subtract one point for each year older than above. | ||
_____ |
Author Expertise: |
Author Expertise: |
| 1 point if the author has written on the topic before. | Same as for journal articles. | |
| 2 point bonus if the author specializes in what is being written about. | ||
______ |
Author Affliation: | Author Affliation: |
| 2 points if the author works for a college or university. | Same as for journal articles. | |
| 1 point if the author works for a think tank or the government. | ||
| Subtract 1 point if the author is a journalist. | ||
_____ |
Add one point if the article or book has a bibliography. | |
_____ |
Add another point if the article or book has footnotes/references. | |
Scale:
6 points or above = Excellent source, provided it is relevant to your topic.
2-5 points = Worth a look.
0-1 point = It might be good background material, but keep looking.
How do I find out?
| EBSCOhost | Limit search to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals |
| FirstSearch | Check bottom of record |
| UrlichsWeb, via library's web page | Vogel Library: Library Resources |
| Bill Katz/Magazines for Libraries | Ref. 016.05 M27 |
| Book Review Digest | Index 028.1 B64d |
Check the biography (back of book, beginning of article, etc.)
Check the title page and the back of the title paper of a journal. If it is published by a college, university or learned society, it is probably a scholarly journal. If it is refereed, it will usually list an editorial board and provide a description of manuscript requirements.
Remember: You can limit to refereed, scholarly journals on Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost).
