Module 5: Identifying Disciplinary Insights
5.4 Determining Relevancy
In Module 4, section 4.6, we discussed evaluating sources for relevancy.
When you are determining relevancy, ask yourself:
- Does this source directly address my research question or support my thesis statement?
- Does this source provide useful details and evidence that are relevant to my topic?
- Does the source’s content directly relate to the subject matter?
This annotated article below (Guenther, Johnson, Sawyer, 2019) discusses the relevancy of a source for a particular topic. Your assignment asks that you determine the relevancy of the article as well as insights from the article about your topic.
Key Takeaways
- The article title and the first sentence both discuss the problem of college student retention in STEM programs. If this is my topic, then this article would be relevant.
- However, if my topic were college retention in online degree programs, then this article is not relevant.
References
Guenther, M. F., Johnson, J. L., & Sawyer, T. P. (2019). The KEYSTONE program: A model for STEM student success and retention at a small liberal arts college [Annotated]. Journal of College Science Teaching, 48(6), 8-13. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26901326
