{"id":139,"date":"2021-04-12T16:25:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T16:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/finding-and-evaluating-research-sources\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T22:41:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T22:41:30","slug":"finding-and-evaluating-research-sources","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/finding-and-evaluating-research-sources\/","title":{"raw":"Finding and Evaluating Research Sources","rendered":"Finding and Evaluating Research Sources"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"footnotes\">\r\n<div class=\"details\">\r\n<div class=\"vtbegenerated\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nBy the end of this chapter, you should be able to:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Distinguish between popular sources and scholarly sources.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Identify different types of sources that can be used for technical projects.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Evaluate research sources critically by considering their authority, content, and purpose.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2><strong>Finding and Evaluating Research Source<\/strong><strong>s<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\r\n<div class=\"details\">\r\n<div class=\"vtbegenerated\">\r\n\r\nWhile going through <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/the-rhetorical-situation\/\">Bitzer<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/rhetoric-and-the-modes-of-appeal\/\">Aristotle's<\/a> rhetorical theory, you must start looking up some sources you can use for your report. Perhaps you already know of some sources that you could pull from. But if you don't have any sources in mind or don't know how to start looking for them, that's okay, too. We'll talk more about strategies for conducting research in the <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/writing-about-research\/\">next chapter<\/a>. Right now, we want to make sure you know how to properly evaluate the sources you find when you start your research.\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h2>Popular vs Scholarly Sources<\/h2>\r\nIn this \u201cinformation age,\u201d when so much information is available on the Internet, it is crucial to critically search through the reams of information to select credible sources that can provide reliable data to support your ideas and convince your audience. In the era of \u201cfake news,\u201d deliberate misinformation, and \u201calternative facts,\u201d developing the skill to evaluate the credibility of sources is critical.\r\n\r\nSources can be broken up into two categories: popular and scholarly. How would you define the difference between the two? Can you come up with some examples of both? Ideally, when you think of both categories, you should think of items such as those in the figure below.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_136\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"369\"]<img class=\"wp-image-136\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2021\/04\/Popular-vs-Scholarly.jpg\" alt=\"Psychology Today and Time are examples of Popular sources while Journal of Marriage and Family and Psychology of Music are scholarly sources. \" width=\"369\" height=\"202\" \/> Figure #1 Examples of Popular vs Scholarly Sources.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhy are [pb_glossary id=\"284\"]<strong>scholarly sources<\/strong>[\/pb_glossary] more desirable than [pb_glossary id=\"283\"]<strong>popular sources<\/strong>[\/pb_glossary]? Is it ever a good idea to use one source type over the other in the report-writing process? Let's look at this a little more deeply.\r\n\r\nWatch the video below to help distinguish between the two:\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gG6vi6wATTk[\/embed]\r\n\r\nLink to Original Video: <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/poporscholarlysources2\">tinyurl.com\/poporscholarysources2<\/a>\r\n\r\nScholarly articles published in academic journals are usually required sources in professional communication; they are also an integral part of engineering projects and technical reports. Since you are researching in a professional field and preparing for the workplace, there are many credible sources you will draw on in a professional context. How many can you list? Table #1 below lists several sources you may find helpful in researching your projects.\r\n<h6><strong>Table #1:<\/strong> Typical Research Sources for Technical Projects<\/h6>\r\n[h5p id=\"38\"]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Download: <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2025\/03\/Typical-Research-Sources-for-Technical-Projects.pdf\">Typical Research Sources for Technical Projects<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h2>Critically Evaluating Sources<\/h2>\r\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\r\n<div class=\"details\">\r\n<div class=\"vtbegenerated\">\r\n\r\n<span class=\"import-tgc\">There are many places from which you can pull sources. However\u2014and this is a <em>big<\/em> issue\u2014it is essential that you critically evaluate your sources for <strong>authority<\/strong>, <strong>content, <\/strong>and<strong> purpose<\/strong>. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<em class=\"import-tgc\">Anyone can put anything on the internet,<\/em> and people with strong web and document design skills can make this information look very professional and credible, even if it isn\u2019t<span class=\"import-tgc\">. Since most research is currently done online, and many sources are available electronically, developing your critical evaluation skills is crucial to finding valid, credible evidence to support and develop your ideas. This has become so challenging that <\/span><span class=\"import-tgc\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">sites like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">List of Predatory Journals<\/a> <\/span>regularly update their online list of journals that subvert the peer review process and publish for profit.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhen evaluating sources and presenting your research, <span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">use the questions in Table #2 to critically evaluate the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><strong>material's authority<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>content<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>purpose<\/strong><\/span><strong>.<\/strong>\r\n<h6><strong>Table #2:<\/strong> Evaluating the Authority, Content, and Purpose of the Information<\/h6>\r\n<div class=\"postbox h5p-sidebar\">\r\n<div class=\"h5p-action-bar-settings h5p-panel\"><code>[h5p id=\"39\"]<\/code><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"postbox h5p-sidebar\">Download: <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2025\/03\/Table-for-Evaluating-the-Authority-Content-and-Purpose-of-the-Information.pdf\">Evaluating the Authority, Content, and Purpose of the Information<\/a><\/div>\r\nGoing through all those questions may seem like a tedious, unnecessary process, but you must consider these questions as you acquire sources for your reports. Not doing so can negatively impact your [pb_glossary id=\"210\"]<strong>credibility<\/strong>[\/pb_glossary] as a professional.\r\n\r\nConsider it this way: let's say you are presenting a [pb_glossary id=\"275\"]report[\/pb_glossary] to a potential client. If they find out you used sources that lack authority, are not relevant or recent, or do not serve their purpose, how will they view you? How will that affect their view of the company you work for?\r\n\r\nUltimately, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.criticalreading.com\/critical_thinking.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">critical thinking<\/a> lies at the heart of evaluating sources. You want to be rigorous in your selection of evidence because once you use it in your paper, it will either bolster your credibility or undermine it.\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Key Takeaways<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Not all sources are created equal when it comes to research. There are two main categories:<strong> [pb_glossary id=\"283\"]popular sources[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong> and <strong>[pb_glossary id=\"284\"]scholarly sources[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>. Of the two, scholarly sources are more credible because they must go through a peer-review process to publish.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>However, you should still evaluate your sources for <strong>authority<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>content<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>purpose,<\/strong> regardless of where you found them.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<h2 class=\"textbox__title\">References<\/h2>\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada [online]. Available: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.statcan.gc.ca\/eng\/start\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.statcan.gc.ca\/eng\/start<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"return-footnote\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/findingevaluating\/#return-footnote-596-2\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">\u21b5<\/a>\r\n\r\nKurland,\u00a0D. (2000).\u00a0<em>What is critical thinking?<\/em> How the language works: The fundamentals of critical reading and effective writing. <span class=\"https:\/\/www.criticalreading.com\/critical_thinking.htm\">https:\/\/www.criticalreading.com\/critical_thinking.htm<\/span>\r\n\r\n<em>List of predatory journals<\/em>. (n.d.). Stop Predatory Journals.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/\"><span class=\"https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/\">https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/<\/span><\/a>\r\n<h2>Attributions<\/h2>\r\nThis chapter is adapted from <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/definingscope\/\">Technical Writing Essentials<\/a> (on <a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/\">BCcampus<\/a>) by Suzan Last and is used under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\" rel=\"license\">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License<\/a>.\r\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\r\n\r\nCover images from journals illustrate the difference between popular and scholarly journals and are only for noncommercial, educational use. <a class=\"return-footnote\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/findingevaluating\/#return-footnote-596-1\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">\u21b5<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"vtbegenerated\">\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Learning Objectives<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Distinguish between popular sources and scholarly sources.<\/li>\n<li>Identify different types of sources that can be used for technical projects.<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate research sources critically by considering their authority, content, and purpose.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Finding and Evaluating Research Source<\/strong><strong>s<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"vtbegenerated\">\n<p>While going through <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/the-rhetorical-situation\/\">Bitzer<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/rhetoric-and-the-modes-of-appeal\/\">Aristotle&#8217;s<\/a> rhetorical theory, you must start looking up some sources you can use for your report. Perhaps you already know of some sources that you could pull from. But if you don&#8217;t have any sources in mind or don&#8217;t know how to start looking for them, that&#8217;s okay, too. We&#8217;ll talk more about strategies for conducting research in the <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/chapter\/writing-about-research\/\">next chapter<\/a>. Right now, we want to make sure you know how to properly evaluate the sources you find when you start your research.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Popular vs Scholarly Sources<\/h2>\n<p>In this \u201cinformation age,\u201d when so much information is available on the Internet, it is crucial to critically search through the reams of information to select credible sources that can provide reliable data to support your ideas and convince your audience. In the era of \u201cfake news,\u201d deliberate misinformation, and \u201calternative facts,\u201d developing the skill to evaluate the credibility of sources is critical.<\/p>\n<p>Sources can be broken up into two categories: popular and scholarly. How would you define the difference between the two? Can you come up with some examples of both? Ideally, when you think of both categories, you should think of items such as those in the figure below.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_136\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-136\" style=\"width: 369px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-136\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2021\/04\/Popular-vs-Scholarly.jpg\" alt=\"Psychology Today and Time are examples of Popular sources while Journal of Marriage and Family and Psychology of Music are scholarly sources.\" width=\"369\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2021\/04\/Popular-vs-Scholarly.jpg 452w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2021\/04\/Popular-vs-Scholarly-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2021\/04\/Popular-vs-Scholarly-65x36.jpg 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2021\/04\/Popular-vs-Scholarly-225x123.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2021\/04\/Popular-vs-Scholarly-350x191.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 369px) 100vw, 369px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-136\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure #1 Examples of Popular vs Scholarly Sources.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Why are <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_139_284\"><strong>scholarly sources<\/strong><\/a> more desirable than <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_139_283\"><strong>popular sources<\/strong><\/a>? Is it ever a good idea to use one source type over the other in the report-writing process? Let&#8217;s look at this a little more deeply.<\/p>\n<p>Watch the video below to help distinguish between the two:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"What are popular and scholarly sources?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gG6vi6wATTk?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Link to Original Video: <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/poporscholarlysources2\">tinyurl.com\/poporscholarysources2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Scholarly articles published in academic journals are usually required sources in professional communication; they are also an integral part of engineering projects and technical reports. Since you are researching in a professional field and preparing for the workplace, there are many credible sources you will draw on in a professional context. How many can you list? Table #1 below lists several sources you may find helpful in researching your projects.<\/p>\n<h6><strong>Table #1:<\/strong> Typical Research Sources for Technical Projects<\/h6>\n<div id=\"h5p-38\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-38\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"38\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Typical Research Sources for Technical Projects\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Download: <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2025\/03\/Typical-Research-Sources-for-Technical-Projects.pdf\">Typical Research Sources for Technical Projects<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Critically Evaluating Sources<\/h2>\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"vtbegenerated\">\n<p><span class=\"import-tgc\">There are many places from which you can pull sources. However\u2014and this is a <em>big<\/em> issue\u2014it is essential that you critically evaluate your sources for <strong>authority<\/strong>, <strong>content, <\/strong>and<strong> purpose<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><em class=\"import-tgc\">Anyone can put anything on the internet,<\/em> and people with strong web and document design skills can make this information look very professional and credible, even if it isn\u2019t<span class=\"import-tgc\">. Since most research is currently done online, and many sources are available electronically, developing your critical evaluation skills is crucial to finding valid, credible evidence to support and develop your ideas. This has become so challenging that <\/span><span class=\"import-tgc\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">sites like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">List of Predatory Journals<\/a> <\/span>regularly update their online list of journals that subvert the peer review process and publish for profit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When evaluating sources and presenting your research, <span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">use the questions in Table #2 to critically evaluate the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><strong>material&#8217;s authority<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>content<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>purpose<\/strong><\/span><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h6><strong>Table #2:<\/strong> Evaluating the Authority, Content, and Purpose of the Information<\/h6>\n<div class=\"postbox h5p-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"h5p-action-bar-settings h5p-panel\"><code><\/p>\n<div id=\"h5p-39\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-39\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"39\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Table for Evaluating the Authority, Content, and Purpose of Information\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"postbox h5p-sidebar\">Download: <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/231\/2025\/03\/Table-for-Evaluating-the-Authority-Content-and-Purpose-of-the-Information.pdf\">Evaluating the Authority, Content, and Purpose of the Information<\/a><\/div>\n<p>Going through all those questions may seem like a tedious, unnecessary process, but you must consider these questions as you acquire sources for your reports. Not doing so can negatively impact your <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_139_210\"><strong>credibility<\/strong><\/a> as a professional.<\/p>\n<p>Consider it this way: let&#8217;s say you are presenting a <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_139_275\">report<\/a> to a potential client. If they find out you used sources that lack authority, are not relevant or recent, or do not serve their purpose, how will they view you? How will that affect their view of the company you work for?<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.criticalreading.com\/critical_thinking.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">critical thinking<\/a> lies at the heart of evaluating sources. You want to be rigorous in your selection of evidence because once you use it in your paper, it will either bolster your credibility or undermine it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Key Takeaways<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<ul>\n<li>Not all sources are created equal when it comes to research. There are two main categories:<strong> <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_139_283\">popular sources<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_139_284\">scholarly sources<\/a><\/strong>. Of the two, scholarly sources are more credible because they must go through a peer-review process to publish.<\/li>\n<li>However, you should still evaluate your sources for <strong>authority<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>content<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>purpose,<\/strong> regardless of where you found them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<h2 class=\"textbox__title\">References<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Government of Canada, Statistics Canada [online]. Available: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.statcan.gc.ca\/eng\/start\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.statcan.gc.ca\/eng\/start<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"return-footnote\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/findingevaluating\/#return-footnote-596-2\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">\u21b5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kurland,\u00a0D. (2000).\u00a0<em>What is critical thinking?<\/em> How the language works: The fundamentals of critical reading and effective writing. <span class=\"https:\/\/www.criticalreading.com\/critical_thinking.htm\">https:\/\/www.criticalreading.com\/critical_thinking.htm<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>List of predatory journals<\/em>. (n.d.). Stop Predatory Journals.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/\"><span class=\"https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/\">https:\/\/predatoryjournals.com\/journals\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Attributions<\/h2>\n<p>This chapter is adapted from <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/definingscope\/\">Technical Writing Essentials<\/a> (on <a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/\">BCcampus<\/a>) by Suzan Last and is used under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\" rel=\"license\">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<p>Cover images from journals illustrate the difference between popular and scholarly journals and are only for noncommercial, educational use. <a class=\"return-footnote\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting\/chapter\/findingevaluating\/#return-footnote-596-1\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">\u21b5<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"glossary\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\" id=\"definition\">definition<\/span><template id=\"term_139_284\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_139_284\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>sources that are typically peer-reviewed by experts, more technical in nature, and cite references<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_139_283\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_139_283\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>sources that are good for background information and ideas, but not for including in actual research<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_139_210\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_139_210\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>a quality that allows others to trust and believe you<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_139_275\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_139_275\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>an account of your investigation into a subject, presented in a written document or oral presentation that has conventional formatting<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-139","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":119,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2772,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/139\/revisions\/2772"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/119"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/139\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/2250organizationalcommunication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}