Skip to Main Content

ENVS 115: Environmental Science

Which Article is Better?

How to Read Laterally

explanation of lateral reading

Infographic source: Joanna Novick, Milton Academy milton.edu/lateralreading

 

Reading Laterally: Checking Online Sources Quicker and with More Accuracy

What is reading laterally? Evaluate a source by reading about it on other, trustworthy sites.

  1. Open a few new tabs in your browser to search outside of the website itself.
  2. Start by searching the name of the website. Use fact checking sites like Politifact or Snopes
  3. Return to the website and scan for additional information, such as a publisher or author name.

How is your source viewed by others? Combining the information from your various searches should give you a good idea of how this website is viewed and, therefore, whether it is reliable.

The point is to look outside of the website, do not rely on how the website describes itself (such as “about us” page).

 

Is a source Scholarly?

How can you tell if a source is scholarly?

  • Is the author an academic?

    • Does the author have a Ph.D.? Are they employed at a university or college? If the source doesn't say, use Google to look up the author.

  • Does this source present the results of research by the authors?

  • Are there a lot of footnotes, endnotes, or references?

  • Is it published by an academic or university press? (for books)

    • The publisher may contain the name of a university [ex: Oxford University Press];
      if the publisher is not a university press, use Google to find the press and read about their editorial board/policies.

  • Is it published in a scholarly journal? (for articles)

    • Many scholarly journals contain the word "journal" in the title; if the title does not include the word "journal," use Google to check out the journal's website & editorial board.

    • If the publisher is a university press, that's a good clue that the publication is peer reviewed and scholarly.

If the answers are yes, the source is probably scholarly -- which means it has gone through a rigorous peer review process.

If you are unsure, ask your professor or a librarian!

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article

parts of a scholarly article labeled: Journal Name, Volume/Issue Number, Date, Article title, Author, Author Information, and Article Abstract or Summary