Library & Learning Commons: APA Style Guide: Research

PEER REVIEWED

Finding Peer-Reviewed articles
Discusses peer-reviewed articles and how to find them using the resources available through the Cambrian Library website.
A Peer Reviewed article is ...
where experts ensure the accuracy, originality, significance, and other characteristics of the research before it is accepted for publication. These articles are highly regarded because the findings and results have been reviewed by experts in the field. Therefore, peer reviewed articles are viewed as credible and authoritative.
CLICK on the JOURNAL ARTICLES tab under TYPES OF RESOURCES
Scholarly sources
In college, you'll need to draw on scholarly or academic sources to back up your points of view and perspectives. This video will show you how to make sense of journal articles, reports, book chapters, and more.

Articles - scholarly (peer-reviewed) and popular

How to identify a scholarly article
Scholarly or peer-reviewed articles versus articles from popular magazines or websites.
Anatomy of a journal article
Each part of an article serves a purpose, and if you know the purpose, you can become more efficient at reading and understanding articles. Consult targeted sections according to the kind of information you need to learn.
Scholarly vs. popular sources
Most sources are scholarly or popular.
Scholarly sources are written by highly-qualified researchers and have a thorough publication process, which involves peer-reviewing and an extensive list of references.
Popular sources are written by and intended for a general audience; they are not peer-reviewed, and they do not usually include a reference list. Examples include books and magazines to websites and blogs.
Scholarly vs. popular articles
This video will cover the characteristics of scholarly vs popular periodical, journal and magazine articles
How to read and understand abstracts
Abstracts are short summaries, snapshots or descriptions of research articles. Reading them can save time!

SECONDARY vs PRIMARY SOURCES

Secondary sources
In scholarly work, a primary source reports original content; a secondary source refers to content first reported in another source.
Work discussed in a secondary source
Provide the source in which the original work was referenced

RESEARCH

Primo Page 1+ - Library's Databases
Start your research by entering keywords in the search box
Library and Learning Centre YouTube channel (videos)
Includes research, peer-reviewed articles among other topics.
Top 5 types of sources for nursing students - actually all students - using APA style
Professor Jus B (‪@juslikethat‬), working with the APA, reviews the top 5 common types of sources that students use in assignments. She uses examples specific for nursing and health care students but all the examples are easily adaptable to any course requireing APA. Topics include: why APA Style is important, top 5 reference types (whole book, chapter in an edited book, report by a government or other agency, journal article, and video). She also discusses citing sources, parenthetical vs. narrative in-text citations, reference list, the 4 elements of a reference, and an example reference list.
Resource types
Resources are academic or popular (more informal) including books, ebooks, websites, videos, academic journals and websites, popular magazines, marketing websites, blogs, government websites!
Resources - SO many!
Some types of resources are academic, while others are popular and informal.
CLICK on the THIRD TAB of the How to Research page.
Search the library
The searching stage of your assignment can often take a long time, but putting in the time at this stage will reward you with relevant results that will make writing your assignment much easier.
CLICK on the FOURTH TAB of the How to Research page.
How to research
How to utilize library resources.
How to effectively search the web.
How to evaluate your resources for quality.
How to fact check information and spot fake news.
Information Literacy - Moodle
The course contains 5 self-paced lessons to help you learn how to: choose a research topic, develop a research question and strategy, conduct research, analyze and review your sources, use information effectively by synthesizing and citing your sources. Practice includes APA formatting, and ethical use of information.
Choose a topic
How to choose a topic that is not too broad nor too narrow.
Consider how much time you have.
CLICK on the SECOND TAB of the How to Research page.
The Web and the Library: which one should I use?
Often it isn't one or the other - it's both. Let's look at the strengths of web resources and library resources.
Search the Web
Research can be done using multiple tools such as library databases not just Google.
CLICK on the FIFTH TAB of the How to Research page.
... But I'm used to the Web!
DYK - the end of the URLs tell you something:
.edu = educational institution - good
.gov.ca = government of Canada - good
.org = an organization - generally good but maybe not
.com = a business that may be trying to sell you something - may not be good
CLICK on the FIFTH TAB of the How to Research page.

EVALUATING RESOURCES

WHO created the resource?
Is the writer Indigenous, Canadian, North American, etc.?
What is the creator's worldview: lived experience, culture, point of view, or philosophy

WHEN was the resource created?
Is it an older resource and therefore may have harmful ideas or language?
Does the historical context or intended purpose support or negate your thesis?
Are you writing an assignment that is historical or current in nature?

WHY was the resource created?
Does an individual benefit from the research - financially, or politically?
Does an Indigenous community, institution, political group or the general public benefit from the research.
Is the author trying to sell something or share a point of view?

HOW was the resource created?
Did the author consult or collaborate with an Indigenous community, institution, or political group?

Source: Harris Learning Library

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Evaluate resources
Keep in mind that not all the information you find online is credible, reliable, or even appropriate for your topic, so it's important to take a closer look at what you are reading.
CLICK on the SIXTH TAB of the How to Research page.

CRAAP test
Currency
Relevance
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose.

True or CRAAP
Currency Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose
CRAAP Evaluation Checklist
Evaluation checklists can be handy tools for evaluating sources

How to Spot Fake News
Lies told, with or without some truth but inaccurate by design or accident. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

Mis- and Dis-Information (fake news)
Mis- and Dis-Information can take the form of fabricated stories, manipulated images or videos, and misleading headlines, aiming to exploit cognitive biases, escalate confusion, or influence public opinion.
CLICK on the SEVENTH TAB of the How to Research page.
Dis- Mis- Information page
For more information, see our Dis- Mis- Information page

VIDEO TUTORIALS

How to research
How to utilize library resources.
How to effectively search the web.
How to evaluate your resources for quality.
How to fact check information and spot fake news.
Defining a research question and doing background research
But I find everything interesting ... how can I focus?
Choosing keywords and brainstorming synonyms
Discusses how to identify main ideas, synonyms, and brainstorming
Using common database filter to refine your search
Library databases include filters that help you refine your search so that you retrieve results that are more accurate and relevant to what you are looking for.
Searching with phrases
Learn how to use phrases such as "electric cars" and "environmental impacts".
Searching with operators
Operators tell the database how you'd like the words you're search to be found in relation to each other in your search results. This is called Boolean searching and uses the words AND, OR, and NOT very strategically.
How to use active reading techniques
Active reading involves actively engaging with the material. It helps you understand and remember your material better than you would by just reading through it.
How to use the SQ4R reading technique
Learn how to overcome difficulties when dealing with hard-to-read and hard-to-understand material

LIT REVIEW

A Literature Review is ...
a comprehensive scan of previously published research on a specific topic. Authors use the literature review to provide readers with a current understanding of the topic, and identify existing research gaps.
CLICK on the SECOND TAB (Evaluating Articles) of Evaluating Your Evidence.
So you need to write a literature review
This APA webinar summarizes 15 takeaways. Even if you are writing another type of research paper or completing a research assignment, you may find this guidance helpful. Just under 2 hours long.
Writing a literature review
A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other - also called synthesis. When we say, “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research (scholarship) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used interchangeably.
Literature review sample
A sample paper demonstrating APA style for literature review professional papers.