RJA #9: Evaluation of Sources

1. Author: Elizabeth Marquardt
Title: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce: Between Two Worlds
Place of Publication: New York
Name of Publisher: Crown Publishers
Date of Publication (copyright): 2005
Edition: 1st

I do not believe this author shows any signs of bias. In her book, she doesn't share her political leanings or religious views that could affect her objectivity. I do not believe the author or publisher is associated with any special interest groups that might only see one side of an issue. Although the author is writing about her theory that children are affected by divorce (based on the results of her own independent study), the author does report and address alternative views. I don't think the author's language shows any signs of bias.

2. Author: Claire Berman
Title: Adult Children of Divorce Speak Out about Growing up with and Moving Beyond Parental Divorce
Place of Publication: New York
Name of Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date of Publication: 1991

Again, I do not believe this author shows any signs of bias. In her book, she doesn't share her political leanings or religious views that could affect her objectivity. I do not believe the author or publisher is associated with any special interest groups that might only see one side of an issue. This author is reporting on her own personal experiences and the information she obtained through interviews of adults who experienced parental divorce as children. She does address alternative views. I haven't gotten through this entire book, but from what I've read so far, the author's language doesn't show any signs of bias.

3. Authors: Keith Verna and Barbara Finlay
Title: The Impact of Parental Divorce on Children's Educational Attainment, Marital Timing, and Likelihood of Divorce
Source: Journal of Marriage & Family, August 1988, Vol 50, Issue 3, p797-809

I do not believe the authors of this article show any signs of bias. The don't share their political leanings or religious views that could affect their objectivity. The authors are affiliated with Texas A&M University, but I am not aware if they or the publisher is associated with any special interest groups that might only see one side of an issue. These authors seem to base their article on comparisons of different studies and their own study. These authors do address different points of view as they address different studies done on this subject. The authors language does not suggest any bias.

4. Divorcesource.com: This website has no documented author or sponsorship. This seems to be an informative website and it appears its purpose is to provide information for people going through a divorce. The information includes all aspects of a divorce, including but not limited to issues involving children, finances, assets, etc. This website discusses the effects of divorce on children but not long term effects and therefore, doesn't appear to be relevant to my topic. The website had the current date but I couldn't tell if that is the date that the website was last updated. It doesn't appear that this website is bias.

5. Childadvocate.net: The author of this website appears to be Chris Petersen, M.D. (child and adolescence psychiatrist). Also this website states that it is in compliance with HONcode and was last reviewed by the HONcode team in August 2009. The HONcode pledges to respect and honor 8 principles: authoritative, complementarity, privacy, attribution, justifiability, transparency, financial disclosure and advertising policy. This website's awards and acknowledgments include Family Friendly Cite recognized and respected on the WWW, Editor's Choice Healing Well.com, and Golden Web award 2002-2003. It appears that this website has several contributors including doctors, attorneys, and a former director of the National Counsel of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The purpose of this website is to "serve the needs of children, families and professionals while addressing mental health, medical, educational, legal and legislative issues." The audience appears to be large and includes anyone needing information about children and it appears this website is relevant to my topic. This website was last revised on October 10, 2009. It doesn't appear that this website is bias.

6. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP.org): This website seems to be authored and sponsored by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Association. This seems to be an informative website and it appears its purpose is to provide information to families, medical students/residents and other medical professionals such as psychiatrists, etc. regarding mental, behavioral and developmental disorders affecting children. Although this website addresses children and divorce, I couldn't find anything about the long-term effects of divorce on children; therefore, it doesn't appear to be relevant to my topic. I couldn't find any information as to when this website was last updated. This website could be bias but it is hard to tell, because it doesn't disclose its affiliations or give information regarding the legislation it supports.