3 Evaluating Sources and Reviewing Literature Free Online FlashCards

How should you evaluate a source?

Judge a source in relation to your research question, using several criteria rather than one clue such as a professional-looking website.

What does a literature review do beyond summarizing studies?

A literature review critically organizes and compares research to show what is known, where findings agree or differ, and what remains uncertain.

What is a research gap?

A research gap is an important question, population, setting, method, or time period that existing research has not adequately addressed.

What does credibility mean when evaluating a source?

Check whether the claims have verifiable evidence, transparent methods, relevant citations, and conclusions supported by the data.

What makes a source relevant to a research question?

A relevant source addresses the specific question, population, place, and time period being investigated.

How do you assess a source’s authority?

Authority depends on relevant expertise or experience, the publisher’s standards, and the source’s role in its field. Lived experience can be valuable evidence, but does not establish expertise on every related claim.

How should you account for bias and purpose?

Identify who produced the source, its audience and purpose, and interests or assumptions that may shape what it includes. Bias does not automatically make a source useless.

What is lateral reading?

Lateral reading means checking an unfamiliar online source against independent sources, investigating its creator, and tracing citations to underlying evidence.

What information should you record while reading a study?

Record each source’s question, methods, participants or materials, principal findings, limitations, and relevance to your topic.

How can a synthesis matrix help with a literature review?

A synthesis matrix places sources in rows and key themes or features in columns, helping reveal patterns and disagreements.

What is convergence in a literature review?

Convergence occurs when findings from different studies point in a similar direction.

How can a review interpret conflicting study findings?

Disagreement occurs when findings conflict or differ in strength. Differences in methods, samples, settings, or definitions may help explain the variation.