User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The article I found, “Paleoecology and fire history of garry oak ecosystems in Canada: implications for conservation and environmental management”, is an academic, peer-reviewed research material.
It can be found at the following link:
https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.tru.ca/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10531-015-0880-1.pdf
I first determined whether the source is academic or non-academic by considering the following criteria:
- was the material written by an expert?
- Are there in-text citations?
- Is there a bibliography?
The authors, Pellatt, McCoy and Mathewes are all experts in their field. Pellatt is the Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation Directorate at Parks Canada. McCoy and Mathewes are both scientists at Simon Fraser University, in the Department of Biological Science. There are in-text citations and a bibliography. Therefore, the source is academic.
The next criteria separate peer-reviewed academic sources, from non peer-reviewed academic sources. A peer-reviewed academic source has been reviewed by at least 1-4 reviewers. The article has been reviewed by 2 anonymous reviewers. Therefore, the article is a peer-reviewed academic source.
The final criteria distinguishes peer-reviewed source research from peer-reviewed source reviews. Peer-reviewed academic research material contains a methods and results section. Pellatt et al (2015) contains a methods or results section. Therefore, it is an academic, peer-reviewed research material.
Pellatt, M. G., McCoy, M. M., & Mathewes, R. W. (2015). Paleoecology and fire history of Garry oak ecosystems in Canada: implications for conservation and environmental management. Biodiversity and Conservation, 24(7), 1621-1639. doi:10.1007/s10531-015-0880-1
