Principles and Applications

1
The Literature of Health Education

• Principles and Applications

2
Evaluating Sources

• Primary Source
• Open-access journals (web based only)
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources
• Popular Press Publications

3
Refereed or Peer-Reviewed

• Find the guidelines for authors or guide to
  submissions section
• What review process is used?
• American Journal of Health Education
• http//www.aahperd.org/aahe/template.cfm?template
  ajhe_main.html

4
Evaluating Research Articles

• Abstract/Introduction
• Were the aims or objectives clear?
• Were the research questions/hypotheses of the
  study clearly stated?
• Methodology
• Were the participants in the study clearly
  described and do you know how they were
  recruited?
• Was the design and location of the study clearly
  described?
• How was data collected? Were the instruments used
  clearly identified and described?
• Results/Findings
• Did the results address the research questions or
  hypothesis?
• Were the conclusions logical given the data
  collected and the type of analysis performed?
• Discussion
• Were the study implications meaningful to you or
  the population you serve?

5
Evaluating the Accuracy of Nonresearch-based
Sources

• What are the authors qualifications? Does the
  person have an academic degree in the field being
  written about?
• What is the style of the presentationscientific
  or use of testimonials or generalities
• Are the references included? Are most references
  to secondary sources?
• What is the purpose of the publication? Is the
  pub trying to sell items discussed in the
  article?
• What is the reputation of the publication? Is it
  refereed?
• Is the information new? Can it be validated from
  other sources? Newsworthy versus valid.

6
Evaluating Internet Sources

• Content citation of sources (.gov, .edu, .org)
• Authority credentials of authors
• Publisher source sponsorship should be clear
• References other pages linked to this site
• Documentation are sources clearly identified
• Facts facts consistent with information from
  other sources

7
Computerized Databases

• ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center)
• MEDLINE
• CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied
  Health Literature)
• PsycInfo (Psychological Abstracts)

8
Mining a Great Find

• Find full text article in pdf format
• Review reference list and identify other articles
  you would like to find