Ethnomusicology

Ask your professor if he or she has a specific style they want you to use. or...

• Who is the author? What is the author's occupation, position, title, education, experience, etc.? Is the author qualified (or not) to write on the subject?
• What is the purpose of writing the article or doing the research?
• To what audience is the author writing? Is it intended for the general public, scholars, policy makers, teachers, professionals, practitioners, etc.? Is this reflected in the author's style of writing or presentation? How so?
• Does the author have a bias or make assumptions upon which the rationale of the publication or the research rests?
• What method of obtaining data or conducting research was employed by the author? Is the article (or book) based on personal opinion or experience, field work, interviews, library research, questionnaires, laboratory experiments, case studies, etc.?
• At what conclusion does the author arrive?
• Does the author satisfactorily justify the conclusions from the research or experience? Why or why not?
• How does this study compare with similar studies? Is it in tune with or in opposition to conventional wisdom, established scholarship, professional practice, government policy, etc.? Are there specific studies, writings, schools of thought, philosophies, etc., with which this author agrees or disagrees?
• Are there significant attachments or appendices such as bibliographies, discographies, audiovisual recordings, photos, charts, maps, documents, etc.? If not, should there be?

What are primary sources? Where do you find them? How can you use them in your research? Why are some historical documents archived while others disappear? Why does it matter today?  Research Methods Primary Sources is a new platform that introduces humanities and social science students to the key approaches and methodologies of working with source material. Designed to be used in the classroom or for independent study, this resource will empower students to engage with primary sources and assess historical evidence with confidence.  At the heart of Research Methods, you will find nearly 200 hundred essays, videos, "How to" guides and case studies by subject specialists which answer all of your questions about working with primary sources. From guidance on where you can find historical documents, to the questions you might want to pose and how best to approach analysing the content they hold, this platform gathers together practical advice and instruction from experts working around the world.

See, for example: Using Sound Recordings as Primary Sources in the Humanities and Social Sciences (A case study designed to teach students how to work with sound recordings as primary sources in the humanities and social sciences. The case study uses Tap Ratchathirat, a suite of short pieces from a Thai music drama, from the David Morton Collection at UCLA’s Ethnomusicology Archive.)

• Pay attention to the domain and URL.  Established news organizations usually own their domains.  For example, abcnews.com is a legitimate news source, but abcnews.com.co is not.
• Read the "About Us" section.  Most sites will have information about the news outlet, the company that runs it, members of leadership, and the mission and ethics statement behind an organization.
• Look at the quotes in a story.  Or rather, look at the lack of quotes. Most publications have multiple sources in each story who are professionals and have expertise in the fields they talk about. If it's a serious or controversial issue, there are more likely to be quotes — and lots of them. Look for professors or other academics who can speak to the research they've done. And if they are talking about research, look up those studies.
• Look at who said them.  Then, see who said the quotes, and what they said. Are they a reputable source with a title that you can verify through a quick Google search?
• Reverse image search.  A picture should be accurate in illustrating what the story is about. This often doesn't happen. If people who write these fake news stories don't even leave their homes or interview anyone for the stories, it's unlikely they take their own pictures.

For more information, check out NPR's "Fake Or Real? How To Self-Check The News And Get The Facts," "False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical “News” Sources" by Melissa Zimdars, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media at Merrimack College, and on the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, website "Keeping Up With... Misinformation and News Literacy" by Melissa Laidman, College Librarian at SUNY Erie Community College and a Reference Librarian at Hilbert College 

The CRAAP test, created by Meriam Library at CSU at Chico.

The UCLA Library has licensed access to Authorea, an online collaborative research writing tool, for UCLA faculty and researchers. Authorea allows authors to write and edit privately or with others, insert and format citations, add and review comments, include data and figures, and export and publish documents in 100+ journal formats. The UCLA license allows users to create unlimited private articles. Learn more about Authorea.

UCLA users can sign up at Authorea and associate their accounts (under User Settings) with UCLA.