Library Research Skills: Evaluating Articles: Publisher & Purpose

There are two Ps in DAPPR for publisher and purpose. Often you can find information about the publisher and purpose in the same places.  For that reason, we have put both on the same page.

Not only should the author be credible, but you also need to evaluate whether the publishing company is credible. An article is published by a journal, magazine, or newspaper.  Ideally, the publisher is a scholarly journal that is peer-reviewed because they have high standards and rigorous evaluations that make it harder for articles to get published.

As you evaluate a source, you need to think about why the information was published. Ideally, the purpose is to educate, inform, or share scholarly research. If the purpose is to persuade, sell something, or spread misinformation, then it is not appropriate for your academic, college-level research.  

You should also consider whether the information is based on facts or opinion, and if opinion, is it biased or does it address more than one point of view?

Considering the overall purpose of the publishing company can also help you evaluate the purpose and credibility of the article. 

The rubric mentions empirical research for 3 points.  Empirical research is basically a scientific research study, much like you learn about the scientific method in your science classes.  It will describe the problem or question being addressed in the study, the hypothesis, methods, data collected, analysis of the data, conclusions, and discussions of what the results mean and how this knowledge can be applied or added to our current field of knowledge.

Many databases have a link for publication details that can help you figure out the purpose of the article and its publisher. In the example below, EBSCO databases have a Source line for the citation information about the article, and you'll notice the name of the journal is hyperlinked in blue.

When you click on the blue hyperlink for the title of the source, another window will pop up with the publication details. Here you can see publisher information, including often a link to the publisher's website. You can also find out the type of publication it is, such as an academic journal or newspaper, and whether it is peer-reviewed. You can see which subjects the source typically publishes about, making the source somewhat of an expert on that topic, and read the description of the types of information they publish. All of this can help you evaluate the publisher and figure out the purpose of the publication.

We also have a database, Gale Academic OneFile, that has a Publications Search.

You can search a particular publication by name and get a publication information page similar to what we saw with EBSCO.

You can also search the Internet for the publisher's website. Look for About Us or About, typically in a navigation bar at the top of the webpage or at the very bottom of the webpage. Within the About information you should find the mission statement, which will describe the purpose of the publisher. You may also find information on the history of the publishing company, which may give insight on its purpose, as well.