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Journals, Journal Articles & Critically Evaluating a Journal Article.
Anne Foley, BA(Hons) English Literary Theory & History, MAInformation Services Management, PG Cert Learning &Teaching
in Higher Education. Academic Librarian, Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities, London Metropolitan University Library
Services. (Adapted by Emily Underwood, Academic Liaison Librarian, Media, Information and Communications)
Abstract
As students you are expected to learn how to critically evaluate what you are reading.
Statements of fact and/or assumptions of truth should be examined and questioned. In 1st
Year, you should learn the basics of evaluating journal articles. In 3rdYear, you will need to
do this in much more depth. This document is intended to convey the basics of
understanding what journal articles are, how they are laid out, and why they are essential to
your studies and written assessments. It also shows how to reference journal articles in the
Harvard Referencing Style.
Keywords: journals; journal articles; evaluating journal articles, Harvard Referencing style, United
Kingdom.
Note: The above section is laid out in the style of an academic/scholarly journal article.
(Critical= exact, careful examination and judgement of a journal article). (Evaluating = systematically
establishing the merit/value of a journal article against a set of standards)
Download and save this document for future use.
Journal Articles: General Information
You may find this tutorial useful. It is available on the library web pages. Find it under the
Skills heading on the library homepage: click on Online Tutorials & Podcasts. It is titled: What are
Journal Articles and Why Use Them? Click on the link below for direct access.
http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/library/Glomaker/journals.html
WHAT IS A JOURNAL?
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A journal (sometimes also referred to as a periodical or serial) is a publication
produced on a continuing basis; weekly or monthly or quarterly (every 4 months) or
annually.
The titles of journals (i.e. New Media and Society or Journal of Communication)
usually give a good indication of the general focus of the subject matter to be found
in them.
As they are published on a regular basis, journals have volume & issue numbers to identify
them. A Volume number usually covers a specific year – i.e. 2008 may be volume 45, and
an Issue number refers to a specific instalment of the journal within that volume – i.e. Issue
1 or 2 or 3 etc. depending on how many times per year the journal is published. Sometimes,
the month of publication is used instead of an issue number. This information is crucial to
finding specific articles within journals. See example, below, of a journal article reference.
There are 2 main types of Journal:
 Academic (also called Scholarly) journals: often contain research articles written
by subject experts; scholarly commentary and critical evaluation of issues by experts
etc. articles written in academic style.Example: Media, Culture and Society
 Trade or Professional Journals: these usually contain news articles and
commentary on current issues; articles are written in everyday language; they have
practical information & often a ‘Jobs’ section etc. Example: Broadcast
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WHAT IS A JOURNAL ARTICLE?
Journals contain several articles, written by subject experts or researchers or practitioners
within the subject area. Some journals contain articles covering a diverse set of topics
related to the subject area. The title Media, Culture and Society, for example, indicates that
this journal contains articles relating to all aspects of media and culture. Not all journals, as
you can see from the example above, have the word JOURNAL in their titles.
HOW TO RECOGNISE A JOURNAL ARTICLE ON A READING LIST, BIBLIOGRAPHY ETC.
Title of Article
Volume & Issue Numbers
Bethany, K. (2011) Entertaining ideas: social issues in entertainment television. Media,
Culture and Society, 33(6), 905-921.
Page numbers of article
Author
Year of Publication
Title of Journal (in Italics)
THERE ARE 2 MAIN TYPES OF JOURNAL ARTICLE:
 Empirical (also called primary) research: the author/s have carried out first-hand
research, and are presenting, describing, evaluating and drawing conclusions from
their research.
 Secondary research (also called desk research): author/s summarise, synthesize
and draw conclusions on the published works of other authors.
THE USUAL LAYOUT& CONTENT OF AN ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLE
This is an indication of how a journal article is usually laid out; not all are laid out in this exact way .
Title: indicating/describing the subject of the article.
Author/s: Name/s and, often, their credentials/qualifications and place of work/affiliation.
Abstract: a summary of the article describing the article’s purpose, method, results and
conclusions.
Keywords: words used to describe the main topics within the article. These are used for
various reasons, i.e. when scanning for relevance of the article to your own studies, to help
retrieve the article from an online database.
Introduction: sets the scene; describes what the article is about, what the issue is being
addressed in the article etc.
Section heading: detailed statement of the issue being addressed. The title of the heading
should indicate the specific sub-topic being described in that section.
Literature Review: this section details other literature related to the issue being addressed
and how it informs the current work. Not found in every article, mainly in research articles.
Methodology/method: if the article is describing research, this explains the method used to
collect data.
Other Section headings & section content: variously describe,in depth, either the
literature review, analysis of research carried out (if a research article), or giving an
indication of the contents of the section.
Findings: if the article is describing research, the Findings detail the results of the research.
Conclusion/discussion/ recommendations: this sections summarises the conclusions
drawn from the research (if a research article), discusses the implications of the research
findings.
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October 2011
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References: an alphabetical list, by author, of the sources (books, journal articles, reports,
statistics etc.) referred to (cited) in the article.
WHY READ JOURNAL ARTICLES?
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They contain up-to-date information and debate on current topics in your subject area
They contain specialised information that may not be available elsewhere
They describe research by experts in your subject area.
Most academic journal articles are peer-reviewed before publication. This means that
the articles have a guarantee of quality.
Critically Evaluating a Journal Article
(Critical= exact, careful examination and judgement)
(Evaluating = systematically establishing the merit/value of a journal article against a set of
standards)
This is a guide to a basic critical evaluation of a journal article. It should be sufficient for your
current purposes, i.e. finding articles which provide evidence to support
statements/claims/arguments you will make in your presentations in Week 10. As you
progress in your studies, you will be required to critically evaluate journal articles in more
depth. Your essay for this module should contain references to journal articles you have
used and these articles MUST be relevant to, and provide evidence of, claims/statements/
arguments you present in your essay. All articles used in your essay must be referenced.
IS THE ARTICLE RELEVANT TO THE TOPIC YOU ARE RESEARCHING AND IS IT RELIABLE?
To answer this question, examine the article, asking the following questions:
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Is the article related to the UK (Geographical Context)? Alternatively, if you are,
for example, doing a comparison between the UK and another country you will need
articles relating to that country. The abstract, keywords or references made in the
main content of the article will indicate the geographical context.
What is the main issue being discussed? Is this issue significant/relevant to the
topic you are researching? The abstract and/or keywords will usually provide enough
evidence to help you decide.
Does the author provide their credentials (Authority)? Do these credentials
indicate that this author has the expertise or experience to write on this topic? This
can be established either alongside the author’s name, under the title of the article, or
in the main content of the article.
What are the major concepts discussed in the article? You may need, for
instance, to establish the theoretical standpoint the author is writing from, i.e. critical
theory, feminist theory, Marxist theory, social constructivist theory – or a combination
of theoretical standpoints. Often, the author will state her/his theoretical standpoint
but, more often, this is implicit in the text. This can be quite difficult to establish as a
new student but, as your studies progress and your knowledge broadens, this will
become easier.
What are the important facts presented in the article? To quickly establish this,
look at the conclusion, as this is where the facts and findings are summarised.
Can you verify the facts presentedby the author in the article? A
scholarly/academic article will have citations within the text (called in-text citations),
used to provide evidence of claims made, and a reference list which provides full
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Anne Foley
Librarian for Social Work
October 2011
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details of the source of these citations. The reference list is provided in order for
readers to verify claims made by the author.
What conclusion does the author reach about the main issue? Do these
conclusions match your own (or other authors’ works you have read) views on the
issue? If not, are the arguments good enough to make you reconsider your own
views? If not, can you find evidence from other articles or sources to support your
views – do they make a more persuasive argument and, if so, why?
What are the arguments presented as evidence of, or to support, the
conclusions drawn at the end of the article? Do the facts presented by the author
support the arguments? A good scholarly article will present the evidence in a clear,
systematic manner; laying out each issue and describing exactly how the evidence
proves the claim they are making in the conclusion. Sometimes, the author’s
conclusion is that the research has not provided clear evidence to support an issue
and recommends that further research is necessary.
Does the author use emotional words or phrases or is the article written in a
neutral manner? A good academic/scholarly article should not use emotional
terminology or words in order to influence or manipulate the reader into accepting
their views. An argument, written in a neutral, emotionless manner, presenting
evidence for claims made, is a key element of a good academic article.
Referencing & Citing Journal Articles in Your Work: Harvard Referencing Style
A very good guide to referencing is provided by Imperial College London, on their web
pages. The direct link to this is:
https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/library/Public/Harvard_referencing.pdf
You can also find it by searching Google, using the words ‘Imperial College Harvard
Referencing Guide’.
It is advisable to download and save this guide for future use.
Alternatively, use the Citing Your References guide on the library web page.
WHAT IS A REFERENCE LIST?
At the end of each essay, you will need to provide a list of the works you have cited/referred
to in your work. This list must be in A-Z order, by author’s name. It must be done in a very
exact manner (that’s why there is a guide) and students will usually lose marks for their work
if they do not reference in the proper manner.
When doing your references for an essay, for example, you will have references to more
than just journal articles. You will also have, at least, textbooks. All references should be
included in a single list, in alphabetical order by the author of the book or article.
The following is an example of a very short, simple reference list of journal articles and books, in
Harvard Referencing style. For a breakdown of the elements of a journal article reference, see page 2
of this document. For information on referencing other sources, read the Imperial College Harvard
Referencing Guide. Alternatively, under the Skills section on the library web page you will find a
linkr look at the Citing Your References guide on the library web page.
References
Bull, S. (2009) Photography, London: Routledge. (Book reference: single author).
London Metropolitan University
Library Services
Anne Foley
Librarian for Social Work
October 2011
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Cobley, P. and Haeffner, N. (2009) Digital cameras and domestic photography: communication,
agency and structure. Visual Communication, 8 (2), 123-146. (Journal article reference, two authors).
Hill, J & Gibson, P.C. (eds.) (2000) World Cinema: critical approaches. Oxford: OUP. (Book reference,
edited book, two editors).
Nickel, D. (2005) Snapshots: The Photography of Everyday Life: 1888 to the Present. San Francisco:
Museum of Modern Art. (Book reference; single author).
FINDING DETAILS FOR YOUR REFERENCES
Books: dates, publishers etc. of books; either look within the book, at the back of the title page, or on
the library catalogue.
Journal Articles: title of journal, volume etc.; this can usually be found on the cover page of a
downloaded article or at the bottom of the first page of the article or elsewhere within the article.
WHAT IS A BIBLIOGRAPHY?
You will sometimes see the words ‘references’ and ‘bibliography’ used as if they mean the same
thing. They do not. A reference list is a list of all sources cited in your essays. A bibliography is a full
list of all the material consulted in relation to your essay, whether cited within the work or not. You will
not usually be asked to produce a bibliography for your essays. Most essays & projects require a
reference list only.
WHAT IS CITING?
When you use ideas from a journal articles, books etc. in your essays, you will need to cite them
within the text.
Some Examples of Citing, Harvard Style, in the Text of an Essay:
Making a general statement about an author/s work:
 A recent study showed that students who read and reference journal articles in their work
tend to gain higher grades than their peers who do not (Tossell, 2011).
Describing specific findings or statements from an author’s work:
 Prior research finds that people tend to replay online games not only because of
the perceived fun, but also because of the distorted notion of time and space
involved, or social escapism (Nelson, 2005).
Using direct quotes from an author’s work:
 When studying the eating habits of undergraduate social work students in a university, Foley
found that ‘they never bring food into the library as they know that it is not allowed’ (2011, p.
18)
Use single quotation marks for direct quotes. Double quotation marks usually denote speech rather
than written works.
For further help with citing in your work, go to the Imperial College Harvard Referencing web pages
and click on ‘What is citing?’
This is a direct link to the web page:
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/library/subjectsandsupport/referencemanagement/harvard/citing
London Metropolitan University
Library Services
Anne Foley
Librarian for Social Work
October 2011