Henley-Putnam's Doctor of Strategic Security Subject Guide

Evaluating the Research of Others

Assess the chosen research to determine its credibility, reliability, and impact on the field of strategic security. Assess the relevance, credibility, and impact of this research in order to evaluate it.

Ask These Questions When Evaluating Your Sources

Who?

• Look for information created by an identifiable author or organization

• Is there any credential or background information available? 

• Is the author qualified to write on the topic?

What? 

• What information is presented and in what context?

• Are there unbelievable or emotional claims?

• Are facts backed up by sources? Look for additional links, references, footnotes, or citations that say where the author got the information.

• Is the information relevant to your research?

Why?

• Why was the information created?

• Is the purpose to inform, persuade, to sell or to entertain?

• Is there advertising? Who is funding the source?

When?

• Check publication dates for currency if recent information is needed.

ACT UP Evaluation Method

A- author. Who wrote the resource? Who are they? Background information matters.

C - currency. When was this resource written? When was it published? Does this resource fit into the currency of your research?

T - truth. How accurate is this information? Can you verify any of the claims in the other sources? Are there tying errors or spelling mistakes?

U - unbiased. Is the information presented to sway the audience to a particular point of view? Resources unless otherwise stated should be impartial.

P - privilege. Check the privilege of the author(s).  Are they the only ones who might write or publish on this topic? Whos is missing in this conversation? Critically evaluate the subject terms associated with each resource you found. How are they described? What are the inherent biases?

Organize the evaluated literature

Organize the research in a way that demonstrates connections between and the relationship of the various pieces of research. Research may be organized by theme, time period, publication date, trends in thought, theory, research methods utilized, results, or conclusions drawn. Identify patterns in the research in order to accurately categorize it.

Synthesize the evaluated research

Integrate (combine) the evaluations of the research to demonstrate how the research relates to the problem statement or research question. Synthesize the evaluations of research by integrating them with one another based upon common themes, methodology, arguments, positions, findings, publication dates, or conclusions, depending upon which method of organization best suits the topic.

Drawing conclusions and identifying gaps in the research

Provide a statement that explains what the research reveals, what the research fails to reveal, and what this information means in the context of the dissertation.

Revisions and editing

Provide a statement that explains what the research reveals, what the research fails to reveal, and what this information means in the context of the dissertation.

Tracking sources and providing references

Cite and reference the literature review sources using APA format; list all of the research, sources, and references read and cited.