NS1150 Term Paper Article Checklist
As you choose your articles, ask yourself if the article…
Includes these sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References.Focuses on the results of one study (e.g. randomized controlled trials and clinical trials)
Is an original scientific article (See the list on the previous page for help in deciding this—remember, no reviews or meta-analyses!)
If the answer to any of the questions in the checklist above is no, it is not an originalresearch article!
If an article meets the above criteria and you found it in PubMed, it is probably peer-reviewed. However, not all articles in PubMed are peer-reviewed and even if a journal is peer-reviewed, every article in it may not be! To confirm that your articles are peer-reviewed, you have two options:
Go to the journal's website and check the About page or Editorial Board page.Does the site indicate whether the journal observes the peer-review process?Search Ulrich's*. Search for the journal title (NOT the article title). An umpire's shirt symbol in the second column indicates that the journal is peer-reviewed. Is this indicated for the journal in which your article is published?
*Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (aka Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory) is a database of information on journals. See this video demonstration on using Ulrich’s or publishers’ websites to determine whether a journal is peer-reviewed.
If you answered no to the questions above, you do not have peer-reviewed articles.
Finally, does your article meet the following criteria?
Was the article published in the last two years? (at least one of your articles needs to be in this time frame)Is the article relevant to the controversy?*
Do you have two articles for each side of the controversy?*
*Please note thatarticles for the supporting side of the controversy and the articles for the opposing side of the controversy don't have to be in complete conflict; studies can show inconclusive results or only slightly significant differences. For example, you might find studies that say that caffeine causes a statistically significant increase in blood pressure vs. study results that are not definitive that caffeine was the cause of the increase.Also, though it's not possible to search specifically for supporting or opposing articles, you can use certain keywords to direct your search. For example, the keywords "adverse effects" can help you find studies discussing risks. As explained previously, review articles can summarize the conclusions of multiple studies and the references in the bibliography can point you toward studies with certain conclusions.
If the answer to any of the questions in the checklists above is no, your articles won't fulfill your assignment requirements and may not be appropriate sources. Go back, pick different articles, or perform the checklist again!