peer review

Scholarship is Not Neutral: Using Positionality Statements for Source Evaluation

Beginning college students often make assumptions that scholarly sources are inherently bias-free. Students may also hold the belief that if they find a source through a library database, it is automatically a useful and neutral viewpoint on a topic. These mindsets can limit students’ motivation to apply evaluation strategies beyond establishing credibility based on the author’s credentials.This lesson plan introduces the concept of positionality statements to help students understand that scholars do not leave their identities and life experiences behind when they conduct research. Students practice a new way to evaluate and understand the perspective–and limitations–that scholars bring to their research.The lesson plan is designed for first-year composition courses in which students are asked to develop a research topic based on their interests or experiences. It could be adapted for upper-level undergraduate courses in the social sciences.

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Discipline(s): 
EnglishMultidisciplinary
License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial License CC-BY-NC

Understanding and Critiquing the Peer Review Process

Goal: The primary goal of the activity or assignment is for students to develop an increased understanding of the peer review process and how it is connected to the authority or credibility of different information sources. Students will also be encouraged to consider some of the criticisms that have been raised about the process and consider alternatives for determining authoritative sources within a field or discipline.Learning Outcomes:Explain the basic process of scholarly peer reviewExplore how the peer review process is used to identify or establish authoritative or credible works within a fieldCritically examine the peer review process, considering it in connection with issues such as access and bias

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Discipline(s): 
Not Discipline Specific
License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial License CC-BY-NC

Peer Review in 3 Minutes

Short Video: How do articles get peer reviewed? What role does peer review play in scholarly research and publication?

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Discipline(s): 
Not Discipline Specific

Type of Institution:

License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License CC-BY-NC-SA

From Idea to Library

Short Video: Where do research articles come from? How do they end up in your search results? This video has the answers.

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Information Literacy Frame(s) Addressed:

Discipline(s): 
Not Discipline Specific

Type of Institution:

License Assigned: 
CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License CC-BY-NC-SA