Searching for and Downloading Resources - Essay Example

Peer reviewed research defines that research which is reviewed and critiqued by the professionals whom are the academic or professional equals of the person presenting the research. The reason why this type of source is important is that the reader of that particular piece knows that it was expertly reviewed before publication. However, it cannot be underscored that the research is reviewed by scholars in that particular field. The article, or research is esteemed as being highly credible because it is thoroughly reviewed and therefore the research is concluded to be of a high caliber.

For instance, I may review an article about the practice of law or an important legal issue, but my review is absolutely meaningless because I am an engineer and not an attorney. Thus, I could be the brilliant attorney Clarence Darrow but I am unqualified to review and article in the field of medicine because I am not a specialist. Those publications that do not employ the peer review process such as Time, Daily Mail and US merely rely on judgments thus the conclusions can never be verified because judgments are of course, only opinions and hold no empirical value of any kind.

Accordingly, the accuracy, analysis and subject matter cannot be confirmed and therefore renders the article as an unreliable source of scholarship. Simply stated, if I wish to secure a failing grade, then I would base all of my research on capricious articles or journals. This assignment asked me to look at what I term as a “non sourced” article and one that was peer reviewed and it further asks me to explain how I know the difference. As class readings indicate, there are two different methods to researching scholarly material and articles which are merely opinion based.

If I were researching online, for a simple article on engineering, then all I need do is type in the term “engineering” and I am greeted with a plethora of articles. If I wish to look at a scholarly publication, then I would employ my Walden guides and access the recommended databases. The appearance of a scholarly article is usually easily distinguished from a magazine article. One can tell by the title of the article and under the title there is listing of authors with a brief glimpse of their credentials.

Usually, you can tell just by looking. In the physical and social sciences, articles of scholarship for the most part have a standard template or format. The purpose of the format is to allow other researchers to replicate the work so as to confirm or reject its findings. A scholarly journal is visibly different from other magazines, but occasionally it can be hard to tell, or you just want to be extra-certain. Should this happen, I would turn to the periodical directory and research whether the journal has been peer reviewed.

JAMA US Magazine Look: Black-and-White Charts Glossy Photographs Ads: Little or no advertising Full-Page Ads Typical Article Title: “Retinal Detachment and laser surgery” "Michele Obama’s workout for toned arms" Footnotes: Yes No Purpose: To Communicate Current Research To Sell Dresses and Makeup