COLL300 — Evaluating Sources

Jeremiah Hall Palmer
Prof. Myron
COLL300
Source Evaluations
June 30, 2012

Source 1: Journal of Emergency Management

In visiting the APUS library for a different assignment, I happened to notice that access to a new publication had been acquired—the Journal of Emergency Management. I took time away from the original task that had brought me to the library in order to peruse the publication; in doing so, I discovered an article which contained some information that I will be incorporating into my research. This new source’s information and my evaluation of said source follows:

McCauley-Bush, P., et al. (2012) Assessment of communication needs for emergency
management officials in high-consequence emergencies. Journal of Emergency Management, 10(1), 15-25. Retrieved June 28, 2012 from:

Credibile Author:

The research reported in this article was conducted by a team of nine individuals; all authors possess a Bachelors of Science or higher and are affiliated with a university in either an engineering or technology capacity.

Reliable Publisher:

I had not heard of the Journal of Emergency Management prior to the aforementioned discovery, nor have I been able to locate any reviews of the publication. I will assume that the publication is reliable as it does appear in the school library—which means that the publication was sought after by a member of the school faculty; if I cannot trust in the credibility of an instructor’s choices, then why am I pursuing a degree with this institution?

Accuracy:

The basis of my desire to use this article lies in the data that was revealed regarding the numbers of emergency managers using certain technologies—primarily smart-phones—and the degree to which these managers feel comfortable in using the technology. While it will be fairly easy for me to find numbers of “average Americans”, discovering the numbers for emergency managers alone would have been more difficult. Based on the numbers being presented for this specific use—as well as other findings this article reported—I feel comfortable in relying upon the accuracy of this report, as the charts seem to align fairly well with those produced for the “average consumer”.

Current Information:

Note is made that the study was first revealed in July of 2011; the latest reference made in the research was to an article accessed in November of 2011.

Objectivity:

It does not appear that any of the participants have any sort of bias toward or against the use of technology. Costs of research are reported to have been covered by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Source 2: American Psychological Association

One of my original picks for sourced material includes an article that was published by the APA. This article focuses on the ability of using “everyday” technologies—such as the social media avenues that are the focus of my paper. This source’s information and my evaluation of said source follows:

Aten, J. et al. (2010) Everyday Technologies for Extraordinary Circumstances: Possibilities for Enhancing Disaster Communication. Psycological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 3(1), 16-20.

Credibile Author:

The research reported in this article was conducted by a team of six individuals; all affiliated with a university’s psychology department.

Reliable Publisher:

The APA is recognized as a credible and reliable publisher of materials relating to human capacities and abilities relating to psychology and general mental abilities. As the research I am conducting deals with informing the public of tragic events—which cause varied emotional and psychological responses—a viewpoint from the mental health community is advantageous.

Accuracy:

This article relies upon other studies that have been conducted with regard to the use and consumption of various comminucations technologies by the general populace; included in the technologies are social media avenues, cellular devices, and general “Web 2.0” services. The article also uses examples of the response to events such as the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, and the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre—the latter two events having social media available for the spread of news.

Current Information:

Though the article was originally published in December of 2010 and relies upon events occurring more than five years ago, the concept is still fresh; additionally one fundamental value of emergency management is to reflect upon previous disasters in order to learn from them. The article also sources other writings and publications as recent as 2009 and 2010—one of particular interest being an article discussing how a Haitian survived the 2010 earthquake by taking advantage of an “iPhone app”. Further research into this article’s sourced information will likely provide additional information that may prove useful—if not better than that I’ve already compiled—regardless of publication date.

Objectivity:

It does not appear that any of the participants have any sort of bias toward or against the use of technology. There is no mention of any funding for the research, opinion, or conclusion.