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ENG101 - F24- Van Houdt

Lesson and Resources

Domain Analysis (3 minutes)

Activity: Identifying Predatory Journals

Objective: Equip students with the ability to distinguish between legitimate and predatory journals.

Instructions:

  1. Research: Explore Beall's List, a comprehensive resource identifying potential predatory publishers.

  2. Analysis: Select a journal from the list and assess its characteristics, such as editorial board composition, peer-review process, and publication fees.

  3. Comparison: Compare the selected journal with a reputable one, using criteria from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.

Discussion Points:

  • What red flags indicate a journal might be predatory?

  • How do legitimate journals establish credibility?

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Recommended Sources and Searching Tips

LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

Controversial Topics

  • CQ Researcher - reports providing in-depth, unbiased coverage of political and social issues
  • Opposing Viewpoints - reference, news, magazine, and journal articles as well as statistics, videos, audio clips and recommended websites providing pro and con coverage of controversial political and social issues

Periodicals - magazines, newspapers, scholarly journals

GENERAL TIPS

  • As you begin your research think about the search words you'll use.  For example, when searching for information on "self-driving vehicles" you might also try "autonomous vehicles" or "driverless vehicles."  Keep a list of your search words and add to it as you find new words.
  • When searching, use quotation marks to keep phrases together:  "voting rights'", "Black Lives Matter", "autonomous vehicles"
  • If you have too many results when using the library research databases try changing the search fields.  Here's an example from Academic Search Complete that shows the search fields changed to Subject Terms.  In other words, retrieved articles must really be about that subject, rather than just mentioning the words in a minor way.

sample Academic Search Complete search

 

LOOKING FOR DOCUMENTARIES?

The Spokane Public Library has a streaming service called Kanopy that includes an extensive collection of documentaries.  As an SCC student, you can use Spokane Public Library resources, regardless of whether you live in the city of Spokane or not.  This guide has information about how to access Kanopy.

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