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TOUR 371: Applied Service Mgmt in N.A.

Information on finding academic journal articles and citing sources in APA style.

Your assignment requires you to find academic journal articles. If you're using academic articles, do you still need to evaluate them? 

The answer, is yes.

What is peer-review?

Evaluate Sources

Even though you are asked to use academic articles, you still need to evaluate the articles to make sure they are relevant and appropriate for your assignment. Evaluating an academic journal article is very similar to evaluating a website or popular source. Follow the Five W's to evaluate your journal articles. 

The Five Ws

Who wrote it?

  • Is the author an expert in the field? Are they affiliated with a university or college? What journal is it published in? 

What type of source is it?

  • Is it academic? Peer-reviewed? Make sure you are not looking at a book review or editorial piece published in an academic journal. 

When was it written?

  • Is it current information? How old is the article?

Where did the information in the article come from?

  • Is it original research? Is it based on previous findings?

Why is it being written?

  • Is it to share research with other academics? Is it to change your point of view? Who is the intended audience of the journal?