Sensational periodicals come in a variety of styles, but often use a newspaper format

Their language is elementary and occasionally inflammatory or sensational. They assume a certain gullibility in their audience.

 

The main purpose of sensational magazines seems to be to arouse curiosity and to cater to popular superstitions. They often do so with flashy headlines designed to astonish (e.g. Half-man Half-woman Makes Self Pregnant).

 

EXAMPLES OF SENSATIONAL PERIODICALS:

Globe

National Examiner

Star

Weekly World News

SITES THAT PROVIDE ACADEMIC JOURNAL RATINGS AND RANKINGS

 

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_ranking

 

Ana-Wil Harzing’s journal quality list, free online:

https://harzing.com/resources/journal-quality-list

 

II. CONTENT ANALYSIS

 

Having made an initial appraisal, you should now examine the body of the source. Read the abstract to determine the author's intentions. For books, scan the table of contents and the index to get a broad overview of the material it covers. Note whether bibliographic references are included (if they are not, then it is not a scholarly publication). Read book chapters that specifically address your topic. Scanning the table of contents of a journal or magazine issue is also useful. As with books, the presence and quality of a bibliography at the end of the article may reflect the care with which the authors have prepared their work.

A. Intended Audience

 

What type of audience is the author addressing? Is the publication aimed at a specialized or a general audience? Is this source too elementary, too technical, too advanced, or just right for your needs?

B. Objective Reasoning

1. Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda? It is not always easy to separate fact from opinion. Facts can usually be verified; opinions, though they may be based on factual information, evolve from the interpretation of facts. Skilled writers can make you think their interpretations are facts.
2. Does the information appear to be valid and well researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence? Assumptions should be reasonable. Note errors or omissions.
3. Are the ideas and arguments advanced more or less in line with other works you have read on the same topic? The more radically an author departs from the views of others in the same field, the more carefully and critically you should scrutinize his or her ideas.
4. Is the author's point of view objective and impartial? Is the language free of emotion-arousing words and bias?

C. Coverage

1. Does the work update other sources, substantiate other materials you have read, or add new information? Does it extensively or marginally cover your topic? You should explore enough sources to obtain a variety of viewpoints.
2. Is the material primary or secondary in nature? Primary sources are the raw material of the research process. Secondary sources are based on primary sources. For example, if you were researching Konrad Adenauer's role in rebuilding West Germany after World War II, Adenauer's own writings would be one of many primary sources available on this topic. Others might include relevant government documents and contemporary German newspaper articles. Scholars use this primary material to help generate historical interpretations--a secondary source. Books, encyclopaedia articles, and scholarly journal articles about Adenauer's role are considered secondary sources. In the sciences, journal articles and conference proceedings written by experimenters reporting the results of their research are primary documents. Choose both primary and secondary sources when you have the opportunity.

D. Writing Style

 

Is the publication organized logically? Are the main points clearly presented? Do you find the text easy to read, or is it stilted or choppy? Is the author's argument repetitive?

 

E. Evaluative Reviews

1. Locate critical reviews of books in a reviewing source, such as Book Review Index, Book Review Digest, OR Periodical Abstracts. Is the review positive? Is the book under review considered a valuable contribution to the field? Does the reviewer mention other books that might be better? If so, locate these sources for more information on your topic.
2. Do the various reviewers agree on the value or attributes of the book or has it aroused controversy among the critics?
3. For Web sites, consider consulting one of the evaluation and reviewing sources on the Internet.

TABLES, FIGURES, AND APPENDICES

Tables, figures, and appendices must be discussed in the body of the paper. Sources of tables and figures that are copied from other sources must be clearly attributed and cited. If you have adapted a table or figure you still need to identify the source.

 

INCORPORATING A LITERATURE REVIEW IN A RESEARCH ESSAY ASSIGNMENT

 

When a literature review is incorporated into a research essay assignment, a suggested structure is:

 

Title

Author Name(s)

Author affiliation

 

• Abstract: this should not be cut and pasted from the introduction and/or conclusion but composed to reflect the intent of the paper, the process, and the conclusions. Many journals restrict the abstract to 150 words. The abstract is a concise summary of the key points of your manuscript.

 

• Introductio n: Tell us what you are going to do here, how you are going to do it, and why it should be done.

 

• Thesis: Definition of a Thesis Statement: a debatable point or claim. This claim requires some proof—some supporting evidence or explanation, and that is what makes this a debatable point. See: http://www.englishdiscourse.org/thesis.definition.html

 

• Literature Review: Summary of research articles relevant to your thesis, both pro and con.

 

• Analysis and Synthesis of Findings from the Literature Review:

 

• The analysis is an examination and exposition of the findings of the body of research you have reviewed relating to your thesis and their relationships. Analysis is the investigation into the operations of an organisation or collective to expose the causes behaving the results achieved, and the effects of those results on the business, organisation, or collective.

 

• Synthesis is the combination and summary of the often complex and sometimes contradictory findings in to a simpler or more basic statement of the findings.

 

• Gaps in the Research Literature: What gaps in the research in the area exist? What information did you look for but were unable to find.

 

• Conclusions and Discussion: What conclusions are you able to draw from your review, and why are you able to draw them? There should be no new information introduced in the conclusions.

 

• References – references identify documents that you have actually read and cited in the paper. If you are using information about an original source that is a summary from some other source, this should be properly noted in the citation in the body of the paper.