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Topic:  How do I evaluate the value of sources?  10th Grade

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Topic:  How do I evaluate the value of sources?  10th Grade

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Discussion Question:  What are the best indicators that a source is reliable?

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Discussion Question:  What are the best indicators that a source is reliable?

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Learners adapt, communicate, and exchange learning products with others in a cycle that includes:

1. Interacting with content presented by others.

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View video on how to use a library database in order to find credible resources.

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View video on how to use a library database in order to find credible resources.

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View TedTalk on Fake News and Recognizing Credible Resources

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View TedTalk on Fake News and Recognizing Credible Resources

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Information Literacy  | Kevin Arms | TEDxLSSC

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A credible source is free from bias and backed up with evidence. It is written by a trustworthy author or organization.

There are a lot of sources out there, and it can be hard to tell what's credible and what isn't at first glance.

Evaluating source credibility is an important information literacy skill. It ensures that you collect accurate information to back up the arguments you make and the conclusions you draw.

Types of sources

There are many different types of sources, which can be divided into three categories: primary, secondary , and tertiary.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it's up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

You will likely use a combination of the three types over the course of your research process.

Type

Definition

Example

Primary

First-hand evidence giving you direct access to your research topic

Empirical or statistical results

Newspapers and magazines

Letters or diary entries

Photographs

Audio clips, such as speeches or interviews

Secondary

Second-hand information that analyzes, describes, or evaluates primary sources

Books

Journal articles

Blog posts

Textbooks

Documentaries

Tertiary

Sources that identify, index, or consolidate primary and secondary sources

Encyclopedias

Dictionaries

Almanacs

Bibliographies

Indexes

How to identify a credible source

There are a few criteria to look at right away when assessing a source. Together, these criteria form what is known as the CRAAP test.

The information should be up-to-date and current.

The source should be relevant to your research.

The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.

The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.

For web sources, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

The CRAAP test

The CRAAP test is a catchy acronym that will help you evaluate the credibility of a source you are thinking about using. California State University developed it in 2004 to help students remember best practices for evaluating content.

The 5 components of the CRAAP test

Currency: Is the source up-to-date?

Relevance: Is the source relevant to your research?

Authority: Where is the source published? Who is the author? Are they considered reputable and trustworthy in their field?

Accuracy: Is the source supported by evidence? Are the claims cited correctly?

Purpose: What was the motive behind publishing this source?

The criteria for evaluating each point depend on your research topic.

For example, if you are researching cutting-edge scientific technology, a source from 10 years ago will not be sufficiently current. However, if you are researching the Peloponnesian War, a source from 200 years ago would be reasonable to refer to.

Be careful when ascertaining purpose. It can be very unclear (often by design!) what a source's motive is. For example, a journal article discussing the efficacy of a particular medication may seem credible, but if the publisher is the manufacturer of the medication, you can't be sure that it is free from bias. As a rule of thumb, if a source is even passively trying to convince you to purchase something, it may not be credible.

Tip
Take a look at what sources the author cited. Are they trustworthy? As a bonus, investigating the sources used may help you find new sources to add to your own bibliography.

Newspapers can be a great way to glean first-hand information about a historical event or situate your research topic within a broader context. However, the veracity and reliability of online news sources can vary enormously-be sure to pay careful attention to authority here.

When evaluating academic journals or books published by university presses, it's always a good rule of thumb to ensure they are peer-reviewed and published in a reputable journal.

What is peer review?

The peer review process evaluates submissions to academic journals. A panel of reviewers in the same subject area decide whether a submission should be accepted for publication based on a set of criteria.

For this reason, academic journals are often considered among the most credible sources you can use in a research project- provided that the journal itself is trustworthy and well-regarded.

Where to find credible sources

What sources you use depend on the kind of research you are conducting.

For preliminary research and getting to know a new topic, you could use a combination of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.

Credible sources for preliminary research
Depending on your topic, consider starting with:

Encyclopedias

Textbooks

Websites with .edu or .org domains

News sources with first-hand reporting

Research-oriented magazines like ScienceMag or Nature Weekly.

As you dig deeper into your scholarly research, books and academic journals are usually your best bet.

Academic journals are often a great place to find trustworthy and credible content, and are considered one of the most reliable sources you can use in academic writing.

Assessing journal credibility

Is the journal indexed in academic databases?

Has the journal had to retract many articles?

Are the journal's policies on copyright and peer review easily available?

Are there solid "About" and "Scope" pages detailing what sorts of articles they publish?

Has the author of the article published other articles? A quick Google Scholar search will show you.

Has the author been cited by other scholars? Google Scholar also has a function called "Cited By" that can show you where the author has been cited. A high number of "Cited By" results can often be a measurement of credibility.

Google Scholar is a search engine for academic sources. This is a great place to kick off your research. You can also consider using an academic database like LexisNexis or government open data to get started.

Open Educational Resources, or OERs, are materials that have been licensed for "free use" in educational settings. Legitimate OERs can be a great resource. Be sure they have a Creative Commons license allowing them to be duplicated and shared, and meet the CRAAP test criteria, especially in the authority section. The OER Commons is a public digital library that is curated by librarians, and a solid place to start.

TipIf you find that a journal article you're interested in referring to is behind a paywall, check to see if your academic institution has a membership. Many university library systems have accounts with major journals.

Evaluating web sources

It can be especially challenging to verify the credibility of online sources. They often do not have single authors or publication dates, and their motivation can be more difficult to ascertain.

Websites are not subject to the peer-review and editing process that academic journals or books go through, and can be published by anyone at any time.

When evaluating the credibility of a website, look first at the URL. The domain extension can help you understand what type of website you're dealing with.

Website domain extensions

Educational resources end in .edu, and are generally considered the most credible in academic settings.

Advocacy or non-profit organizations end in .org.

Government-affiliated websites end in .gov.

Websites with some sort of commercial aspect end in .com (or .co.uk, or another country-specific domain).

In general, check for vague terms, buzzwords, or writing that is too emotive or subjective. Beware of grandiose claims, and critically analyze anything not cited or backed up by evidence.

Some questions to ask yourself could include:

How does the website look and feel? Does it look professional to you?

Is there an "About Us" page, or a way to contact the author or organization if you need clarification on a claim they have made?

Are there links to other sources on the page, and are they trustworthy?

Can the information you found be verified elsewhere, even via a simple Google search?

When was the website last updated? If it hasn't been updated recently, it may not pass the CRAAP test.

Does the website have a lot of advertisements or sponsored content? This could be a sign of bias.

Is a source of funding disclosed? This could also give you insight into the author and publisher's motivations.

Social media posts, blogs, and personal websites can be good resources for a situational analysis or grounding of your preliminary ideas, but exercise caution here. These highly personal and subjective sources are seldom reliable enough to stand on their own in your final research product.

Similarly, Wikipedia is not considered a reliable source due to the fact that it can be edited by anyone at any time. However, it can be a good starting point for general information and finding other sources.

Tip
Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the Wikipedia article. Here, you will see a footnotes section for references and further reading. There are often credible sources linked here, such as scholarly articles or books, that can aid your research.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a source credible?

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test and follow these guidelines:

The information should be up to date and current.

The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.

The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.

For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

What is the definition of peer review?

Peer review is a process of evaluating submissions to an academic journal. Utilizing rigorous criteria, a panel of reviewers in the same subject area decide whether to accept each submission for publication. For this reason, academic journals are often considered among the most credible sources you can use in a research project- provided that the journal itself is trustworthy and well-regarded.

What is the CRAAP test?

The CRAAP test is an acronym to help you evaluate the credibility of a source you are considering using. It is an important component of information literacy.

The CRAAP test has five main components:

Currency: Is the source up to date?

Relevance: Is the source relevant to your research?

Authority: Where is the source published? Who is the author? Are they considered reputable and trustworthy in their field?

Accuracy: Is the source supported by evidence? Are the claims cited correctly?

Purpose: What was the motive behind publishing this source?

What are examples of academic dishonesty?

Academic dishonesty can be intentional or unintentional, ranging from something as simple as claiming to have read something you didn't to copying your neighbor's answers on an exam.

You can commit academic dishonesty with the best of intentions, such as helping a friend cheat on a paper. Severe academic dishonesty can include buying a pre-written essay or the answers to a multiple-choice test, or falsifying a medical emergency to avoid taking a final exam.

How can you tell if a source is primary or secondary?

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you're studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?

Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?

Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it's up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism.

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

This Scribbr article

George, T. (August 19, 2022). What Are Credible Sources & How to Spot Them | Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/credible-sources/

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What Are Credible Sources & How to Spot Them | Examples

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A credible source is free from bias and backed up with evidence. It is written by a trustworthy author or organization. There are a lot of sources out there, and it can be hard to tell what's credible and what isn't at first glance. Evaluating source credibility is an important information literacy skill.

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View Video Instructions on Using Library Databases

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View Video Instructions on Using Library Databases

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Use the C.R.A.A.P. Test Method Worksheet

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Use the C.R.A.A.P. Test Method Worksheet

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Read and Discuss Blog Post from Psychology Today on Recognizing Fake News

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Read and Discuss Blog Post from Psychology Today on Recognizing Fake News

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Over the summer, I wrote a couple of pieces about how we can infuse critical thinking into our writing and avoid presenting . During my writing, it dawned on me that it's arguably easier to avoid presenting fake news than it is to identify fake news. Indeed, research indicates both that students struggle to evaluate the credibility of information online (Wineburg et al., 2016) and that approximately 2% of children have the critical literacy skills necessary to identify whether a news story is fake (Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy in Schools, 2018).

'Fake news' is not a new concept, though it has increased in influence since the dawn of social media, which facilitates easier transmission of such 'stories.' The manner in which information exchange has evolved over the past 15 years provides us with more and more examples of fake news; for example, through clickbait, biased reporting, propaganda and bad journalism. Fake news can be exchanged accidentally or deliberately-to which the parliamentary Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the UK refer to as misinformation and disinformation, respectively.

Indeed, perhaps one of the best tips for avoiding the presentation of fake news is the advancement of one's ability to identify it in the first place. As a result, I present 10 Ways to Spot Fake News-but before I begin-it's worth noting that there already exists a variety of models for spotting fake news, many of which are helpful. However, what is often glossed over is that what they're really talking about, in a watered-down version, is the importance of critical evaluation. Thus, I present these tips in the context of evaluation, which refers to the critical thinking skill that is used in the assessment of propositions and the conclusions they infer with respect to their credibility, relevance, logical strength, and balance in the argument; thus, deciding the overall strength or weakness of the argument (Dwyer, 2017; Dwyer, Hogan & Stewart, 2014; Facione, 1990).
Credibility
Evaluating the credibility of claims and arguments involves progressing beyond merely identifying the source of propositions in an argument, to actually examining the credibility of those identified sources (e.g., personal experiences, common beliefs, opinions, expert/authority opinion, statistics, and research evidence). So...

1. Don't just read the headline- dig deeper. Read the full article and assess the sources of the claims.

2. Look for evidence, not opinion (unless it's a relevant expert's opinion-remember, they're an expert in a particular field for a reason). Personal experiences and common beliefs are not credible sources.

3. Look for replication -has the same story been published elsewhere? If multiple sources are covering it, it's more likely legitimate than if this is the only source. If not, it could be unreliable. What website are you reading it from? Does the address look dodgy or untrustworthy? If so, you should...

4. Read about the site, the author, or publisher. Knowing more about these will help inform your evaluation of balance as well (see below). What do you do if the evidence they present isn't language-based ... what if it's an image? A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Not necessarily-pictures can lie as well. Perhaps it might be worth conducting a reverse image search to see if it is a fake image?

Evaluation also implies deep consideration of the relevance of claims within an argument, which is accomplished through assessing the contextual pertinence or applicability of one proposition to another. So...

5. Ask yourself, are all the reasons presented to you for believing something actually relevant to the central claim? For example, suppose that in the heat of debate on the biological basis of aggression, a person says to you:

"Well, you mentioned that men and women have different levels of testosterone- men have more testosterone and this is one reason why men are more aggressive. But, did you know that testosterone has also been implicated in the structural brain differences that underpin gender differences in language ability and spatial ability?"

Though related, is this argument regarding gender differences in language and spatial ability truly relevant to the claim about aggression? I've seen and heard many arguments go on tangents because they trail off on a path of what's related, but not what's relevant. If evidence and logic cease to become relevant to the central claim, it could be a case of sloppy writing or perhaps, more insidiously, a crafty means of biasing the reader-either way, there's a good chance that this might be fake news.
Logical Strength
An argument is not just a heated debate-every piece of text you read that contains the words but or because, however, yet, therefore, thus, etc., is an argument. Evaluating the logical strength of an argument is accomplished by monitoring both the logical relationships among propositions and the claims they infer. The overall structure of an argument needs to be logical if the argument is to be considered strong.
6. If the structure lacks logic or what the writer deems to be logic is weak, this may be a sign that you're dealing with fake news.
7. Logic is objective; so, look out for dramatic punctuation (!) and sensationalist language. Yes, the real news often presents its headlines in a sensationalist manner, but fake news can go overboard with this. With that, a good rule of thumb is to evaluate any sensationalist reports with extra care, regardless of the source.

8. Construction of logic requires care, so look out for careless presentation. Imagine a piece seems logical-OK, fair enough. Did you notice spelling mistakes or any concerning issues with the manner in which the piece was presented? These may also be signs of fake news.

The final feature of evaluation is the assessment of the extent to which there is a balance of evidence in an argument structure.

9. Count the reasons and objections (i.e., reasons for and against). If there's a relatively large difference between these counts, then we can consider the argument imbalanced, which may imply that that the argument's author is in some way biased. However, it may also mean that there is an imbalanced amount of evidence available for evaluation (and thus, it's not necessarily biased writing; rather research as complete as it can be); so, be extra careful in your assessment (and don't be overly skeptical).

Furthermore, an argument may be biased in the sense that a person has a belief or prejudgment that makes them focus only on reasoning that supports their belief (e.g., confirmation bias). There are two extremes of bias and many shades of difference between these two extremes. The first extreme is where a person wholeheartedly agrees with a claim and offers only supporting arguments (i.e., omitting objections). The second extreme is where a person vehemently opposes a claim and offers only objections (i.e., omitting supports). In both cases, the person may be overlooking some important arguments; and in both cases, we need to...

10. Question the intentions of the author and ask, what is the purpose of this news story? I find that an often useful way of approaching the assessment of bias is through asking whether the piece or 'story' made me feel something. Remember, news stories are supposed to be objective. If what was presented to you evokes some kind of emotion, then it means that either the author is biased or you are. Be honest with yourself about this and assess both possibilities. Notably, this 'emotion evoking' is commonplace in pieces like editorials or opinion-based articles; so, it's not always necessarily fake news. With that, however, you must be aware of the piece's format, its role, and its purpose.

Similarly, arguments can be biased as a result of deliberately pitting weak propositions (e.g., with regard to relevance or credibility) on one side against strong propositions on the other. For example, by placing a string of three anecdotes on one side of a debate against one good quality piece of research on the other side, we may well wonder if the author is not deliberately pitting the strong against the weak in order to make us rethink our overall conclusion. Furthermore, the author might be presenting weak statements against one strong proposition in order to feign a balanced argument, when, in reality, the argument is both imbalanced and biased. Evaluating the potential for omission, bias, and imbalance in an argument allows us to identify and address an argument's underlying motives.

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Over the summer, I wrote a couple of pieces about how we can infuse critical thinking into our writing and avoid presenting . During my writing, it dawned on me that it's arguably easier to avoid presenting fake news than it is to identify fake news.

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Instruction from Purdue Owl on Evaluating Sources

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Instruction from Purdue Owl on Evaluating Sources

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Once you have an idea of the types of sources you need for your research, you can spend time evaluating individual sources. If a bibliographic citation seems promising, it's a good idea to spend a bit more time with the source before you determine its credibility. Below are some questions to ask and things to consider as you read through a source.

Find Out What You Can about the Author

One of the first steps in evaluating a source is to locate more information about the author. Sometimes simply typing an author's name into a search engine will give you an initial springboard for information. Finding the author's educational background and areas of expertise will help determine whether the author has experience in what they're writing about. You should also examine whether the author has other publications and if they are with well-known publishers or organizations.

Read the Introduction / Preface

Begin by reading the Introduction or the Preface-What does the author want to accomplish? Browse through the Table of Contents and the Index. This will give you an overview of the source. Is your topic covered in enough depth to be helpful? If you don't find your topic discussed, try searching for some synonyms in the Index.

If your source does not contain any of these elements, consider reading the first few paragraphs of the source and determining whether it includes enough information on your topic for it to be relevant.

Determine the Intended Audience

Consider the tone, style, vocabulary, level of information, and assumptions the author makes about the reader. Are they appropriate for your needs? Remember that scholarly sources often have a very particular audience in mind, and popular sources are written for a more general audience. However, some scholarly sources may be too dense for your particular research needs, so you may need to turn to sources with a more general audience in mind.

Determine whether the Information is Fact, Opinion, or Propaganda

Information can usually be divided into three categories: fact, opinion, and propaganda. Facts are objective, while opinions and propaganda are subjective. A fact is something that is known to be true. An opinion gives the thoughts of a particular individual or group. Propaganda is the (usually biased) spreading of information for a specific person, group, event, or cause. Propaganda often relies on slogans or emotionally-charged images to influence an audience. It can also involve the selective reporting of true information in order to deceive an audience.
Example:

Fact: The Purdue OWL was launched in 1994.

Opinion: The Purdue OWL is the best website for writing help.

Propaganda: Some students have gone on to lives of crime after using sites that compete with the Purdue OWL. The Purdue OWL is clearly the only safe choice for student writers.

The last example above uses facts in a bad-faith way to take advantage of the audience's fear. Even if the individual claim is true, the way it is presented helps the author tell a much larger lie. In this case, the lie is that there is a link between the websites students visit for writing help and their later susceptibility to criminal lifstyles. Of course, there is no such link. Thus, when examining sources for possible propaganda, be aware that sometimes groups may deploy pieces of true information in deceptive ways.

Note also that the difference between an opinion and propaganda is that propaganda usually has a specific agenda attached-that is, the information in the propaganda is being spread for a certain reason or to accomplish a certain goal. If the source appears to represent an opinion, does the author offer legitimate reasons for adopting that stance? If the opinion feels one-sided, does the author acknowledge opposing viewpoints? An opinion-based source is not necessarily unreliable, but it's important to know whether the author recognizes that their opinion is not the only opinion.

Identify the Language Used

Is the language objective or emotional? Objective language sticks to the facts, but emotional language relies on garnering an emotional response from the reader. Objective language is more commonly found in fact-based sources, while emotional language is more likely to be found in opinion-based sources and propaganda.

Evaluate the Evidence Listed

If you're just starting your research, you might look for sources that include more general information. However, the deeper you get into your topic, the more comprehensive your research will need to be.

If you're reading an opinion-based source, ask yourself whether there's enough evidence to back up the opinions. If you're reading a fact-based source, be sure that it doesn't oversimplify the topic.

The more familiar you become with your topic, the easier it will be for you to evaluate the evidence in your sources.

Cross-Check the Information

When you verify the information in one source with information you find in another source, this is called cross-referencing or cross-checking. If the author lists specific dates or facts, can you find that same information somewhere else? Having information listed in more than one place increases its credibility.

Check the Timeliness of the Source

How timely is the source? Is the source twenty years out of date? Some information becomes dated when new research is available, but other older sources of information can still be useful and reliable fifty or a hundred years later. For example, if you are researching a scientific topic, you will want to be sure you have the most up-to-date information. However, if you are examining an historical event, you may want to find primary documents from the time of the event, thus requiring older sources.

Examine the List of References

Check for a list of references or other citations that look as if they will lead you to related material that would be good sources. If a source has a list of references, it often means that the source is well-researched and thorough.

As you continue to encounter more sources, evaluating them for credibility will become easier.

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General Guidelines - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

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Once you have an idea of the types of sources you need for your research, you can spend time evaluating individual sources. If a bibliographic citation seems promising, it's a good idea to spend a bit more time with the source before you determine its credibility.

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View Video from SmartStudent on the 5 ways to Evaluate a Reliable Resource

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View Video from SmartStudent on the 5 ways to Evaluate a Reliable Resource

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Credible Source: Five tips to determine if your source is credible

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John Green & Crash Course - Who Can You Trust?

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John Green & Crash Course - Who Can You Trust?

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Who Can You Trust? Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #4

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After writing my last blog post, I realized that it may still be difficult to determine which online articles represent fact or fluff. So, I created an article credibility checklist! This tool is designed to measure the credibility of articles that discuss findings from research studies. By using this tool, you should be able to distinguish between trusted versus poor quality sources of information.

The article credibility checklist consists of ten "yes" or "no" statements. To use this tool pick an online article that describes a research study and select either "yes" or "no" for each statement. If you are unsure of which response to select, go with your gut. Once you've read through and checked each statement, tally all of your "yes" responses. The final score will help you assess the credibility of the article you read.

It should be noted that if your article does not receive a high score, it doesn't mean the information is false. What this indicates is that the source may not be that reliable. In this scenario, you should read the original publication to better understand the findings. Alternatively, you could find another online article that better describes the research study if you do not have access to the original article.

Below are the ten statements for the article credibility checklist:

1. The author specifies the researcher/s who conducted the original study
2. The article includes references, citations, and / or links to support their claims
3. The article is written in a fair and neutral manner that is free from exaggeration
4. You can find the original study based on the information provided
5. You know how many people participated in the original study
6. You can make reasonable conclusions from the information provided
7. The article was published by a trustworthy source
8. The content of the article appears to be accurate, factual, and recent
9. The article appears to be free from bias and objective
10. The findings can be supported by other sources

The scoring guide below helps you determine the credibility of your source.

0-2 Questionable -The article is likely missing key information from the original study. It is unlikely that the information was reported in an objective and unbiased manner. Thus, it is unclear whether the source can be trusted.
Advice: See if you can find another article on this topic or the original source.

3-4 Poor - The article may be based on solid research, but the author doesn't provide sufficient details about the study. There is room for improvement in how the study is described and the findings are shared. As a result, it is likely that the credibility of the article cannot be fully trusted.
Advice: See if you can find another article on this topic or the original source.

5-6 Average - The article is adequate in how it presents the original study and contains some useful information. You can probably identify who conducted the study and find the original study. Therefore, you can trust the credibility of this article, but there are likely better articles on this topic Most articles that you evaluate with the article credibility checklist will receive this score.
Advice: Trust the content of this article, but consider exploring other articles on this topic to get the full story.

7-8 Good - The article represents a credible source. You can trust that the author tried to convey the original article in an unbiased and accurate manner. While the article doesn't provide all the information you may want from the original source, it provides sufficient detail to understand the basic tenets of the research. The author likely cited their sources and connected the reader to additional information to support their claims.
Advice: Trust the content of this article.

9-10 Excellent - The article represents a credible source. You can trust that the author conveyed the original article in an objective, unbiased, detailed, and accurate manner. It is likely that this article is from a well-established source that vets their authors carefully. The author and article are both credible and provide reliable information.
Advice: Congratulations! This article is the next best thing after the original study!

For additional information on vetting the credibility of online articles, check out these other links and resources! There's a lot of great materials out there!

Feel free to contact me with any research and evaluation questions or needs at annette@researchevaluationconsulting.com

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After writing my last blog post, I realized that it may still be difficult to determine which online articles represent fact or fluff. So, I created an article credibility checklist! This tool is designed to measure the credibility of articles that discuss findings from research studies.