As you gather sources for your annotated bibliography, it is important that you think critically about the types of references you use, as well as how and why they were created. Has the source been peer-reviewed by experts in the field, and if not, what other types of quality control are present? Is it an empirical research article, and how do you know?
If you are ever unsure of whether a source is appropriate for your assignment, you are always welcome to reach out to a librarian for help!
For your literature review, you are required to cite at least 15 peer-reviewed empirical research articles. However, you may encounter and cite other kinds of scholarly literature, or gray literature, and it's important to understand what makes them different than traditional journal articles.
Put simply, grey literature is information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels. This can include research produced by academic, government, or business sources. For example, a journal article is ultimately controlled and distributed by it's commercial publisher, but a dissertation or thesis is produced in an academic environment, and generally not published commercially outside the institution. Grey literature is usually not peer-reviewed, and processes of quality control can vary depending on the source type.
Adapted from the UNSW Sydney "Grey Literature" libguide and Simon Fraser University libguide on grey literature.
You have been tasked with finding at least 15 peer-reviewed empirical research articles for your annotated bibliography.
What sets apart an empirical study from other types of scholarly work is the presence of original data collection driven by a research question, ultimately leading to a conclusion based on the data. Unlike a review article or a literature review that attempts to collect and synthesize salient literature on a particular topic, an empirical research article reports on the collection and analysis of original data in order to answer a research question.
Things to look for: