Tutorials
- Information in the DisciplinesThis short video describes the ways that scholars in different disciplines approach research and evidence, and how that's reflected in how information is published and organized.
- What does the “peer review” filter mean?When you search in the USC Libraries, you may notice a filter on the left-hand side that says “Peer-Reviewed Journals.” And assignments often require you to use peer-reviewed, or scholarly, sources. What does this mean, and why would you use this filter? That’s what we’ll cover in this tutorial.
Library instruction activity: Inventing Peer Review
This scenario and its questions can be used either for oral discussion or written group work through a collaborative Google document.
Scenario:
You, as a class, have decided to start a journal/magazine that publishes the best and newest research in literature (or cultural studies). The articles published in it should be useful for researchers who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge in their field. You plan to send a call for papers out through the Internet/social media.
- What method will you use for judging the quality of the papers you receive?
- How will you, as college students, be able to employ this method?
- Who else is qualified to employ this method? How would you, as editors, use these people?
Discussion:
As students discuss, draw parallels between what they come up with, and the process of peer review. Link this back to peer-reviewed articles you've studied in class.
This activity is based on one described in Eric Frierson's In the Library with the Lead Pipe article "Making it Their Idea: The Learning Cycle in Library Instruction."
Discussion Starters
Librarian Anne-Marie Dietering of Oregon State University Libraries created the below list of "what people do" in the culture of peer review (inspired by the discipline of cultural geography). The longer blog post with context for this list is called "Culture is What People Do."
Information Literacy Outcomes
- Identify markers of authority recognized by disciplines, professions, and other communities of knowledge and practice
- Articulate the capabilities and constraints of various processes of information creation