LibGuides: Evaluating Sources: Pushing Against Privilege

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You may already be aware that there is inherent privilege in the publishing industry. More specifically you may have noticed that the majority of published scholarly papers are written by white scholars and peer-reviewed by white peers. While these scholarly resources are valuable it does mean that nonwhite scholars do not have the same privilege and opportunity to publish their work. Without publishing privilege nonwhite resources never make it to your search results meaning that you are missing out on an important segment of research.

One thing we can do to push against this privilege is by actively seeking other places for scholarly research. This might look like open access journals, scholarly blogs, zines, and other free scholarly resources.

AFTER GRADUATION

Once you graduate from Simmons, you will lose access to all the library databases. As you move beyond Simmons, here is a site that curates freely available (scholarly included) resources.

Radically Informed
list of free resources to use for scholarly research.

OPEN-ACCESS JOURNALS

There are several avenues worth exploring to get at research that is not represented in our databases due to privilege in publishing. Open Access Journals can be a really great resource. Open Access (OA) Publishing is free and allows access to anyone. This means research is not hidden behind and expensive pay wall. Keep in mind that not every Open Access Journal is on the up and up. There are scams and shoddy research/reviews that get published in some OA journals. But there are ways for you to evaluate those OA journals

Find an OA Journal
a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
Evaluating OA Journals
helpful tools and discuss criteria to consider when choosing a publishing venue as well as tips for identifying and avoiding so-called predatory publishers, an increasingly common feature on the scholarly publishing landscape.
Retraction Watch
a blog that reports on retractions of scientific papers and on related topics.

USING BLOGS

Another avenue is to find scholarly blogs. Oftentimes professors and researchers are talking about their work on blog sites. Just like with any other resource, you will need to evaluate the blog to see if it is credible or not. Here is a website to help you do that

Using Blogs
how to evaluate blogs.

OTHER SCHOLARLY SITES

Women also know stuff
Our searchable database helps academics and journalists identify and connect with women academics conducting research on a multitude of issues related to the study of politics.
Women also know history
Our searchable website makes it easier to identify and connect with women historians working in a wide range of fields and professional settings.
Sourcelist
Sourcelist is a database of qualified experts in technology policy from diverse backgrounds. It is built on the principle that technology policy stands to benefit from the inclusion of the ideas, perspectives, and recommendations of a broader array of people.
Cite black women
Cite Black Women engages with social media, aesthetic representation (our t-shirts) and public dialogue to push people to critically rethink the politics of race gender and knowledge production.

USING ZINES

Lastly, you can incorporate zines into your research. While you might not be able to cite them in your work (ask your professor), you can certainly read zines for background information and for that invaluable first-hand account. Primary sources (folks writing about a topic that they are directly affected by) gives a voice to your research.

Zines!
by Simmons University Library Last Updated Jun 17, 2024 858 views this year