As we have emphasized in prior sections, identifying applicable and reliable sources is essential to the research process, but how do we read and evaluate the scholarly works we identify?
Instead of reading the work straight through, try focusing on individual sections based on their content, asking specific questions at each point.
The following slide deck will break down how to effectively approach each portion of a scholarly article in an order that will help you identify the author’s main argument and its relevance to your study.
(Canada College, 2021 & Sternheimer, 2021)
How do you know you’re done reviewing sources?
It can be hard to tell when you have collected enough information about a topic to ensure you have a comprehensive understanding of the existing research. However, you’re typically done collecting new sources when:
- You have mined each of your source’s bibliographies for new citations
- You are seeing the same sources over and over again when you search
