Skip to Main Content

Course & Subject Guides

Comparative Politics - Greensburg Campus

This guide will assist students in Dr. Adams' Comparative Politics course PS0300 and similar courses.

Types of Articles

Although it is not always appropriate to use scholarly articles, they are considered to be the gold standard for quality.

What is a scholarly article?

Often referred to as "peer-reviewed" or "academic," scholarly articles are concerned with academic study, especially research, exhibiting methods and attitudes of a scholar.

What are the general characteristics of scholarly articles?

  • a professional, serious look
  • often contain graphs and/or charts
  • always cite their sources in the form of footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography
  • articles are written by a scholar in the field about which they are writing
  • assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader (can be more difficult to read than other article types)
  • main purpose is to report on original research or experimentation

What are general purpose articles?

These are articles written for the general public in newspapers and magazines or on news websites. More substantive publications in this area include The Economist, U.S. News and World Report, National Geographic, and Scientific American. 

What are the characteristics of a general purpose publication?

  • Designed for a broad segment of the population
  • Articles written by a journalist or freelance writer for the general public
  • Usually read for information, entertainment or to keep up with current events
  • Print edition may have a bright cover with glossy pictures
  • Lots of advertising

What are trade publications?

Trade publications are generally focused on a specific field but are not intended to be "scholarly."  Rather, they communicate news and trends of interest to those working in that field.

What are the characteristics of trade or professional publications?

  • Provides information of use to a particular industry, often using the industry's language or jargon
  • Articles are not peer reviewed
  • No specific format
  • Articles are sometimes unsigned; may be written by practitioners in the field
  • Advertising is used to appeal to those in the field

Why do I need to evaluate my sources?

Why do I need to evaluate my sources? Because your paper is only as good as your sources.

Let's use a practical example to illustrate this.  Pretend you are fixing up an old car, and you'd like to sell it for a small profit.  A lot of parts in the car don't work, so you need to buy some to get it up and running.  Can you go to the junkyard and just get any old parts?  No, not if it you want it to run. 

First, you need to have an understanding of how that particular car works, and then you need to be sure that you have good quality parts.  You don't want the car to break down right after someone buys it.  The car will only be as good as the parts that you put into it.

Writing a paper is like fixing up that car.  You can't just use any old source that you find on the Internet or in the library's databases.  First, you need to have an understanding of your topic or argument.  Then you need to be sure that you pick sources that are not only appropriate to your thesis, but ones that are also of good quality.  Like the car, you don't want your paper breaking down halfway through!

Resources for Evaluating Sources

Here are tips and guidelines for evaluating sources.