LibES.17 Digging Deeper: Food Studies Article (2)

Applying our Guiding Questions

Let's consider our guiding questions for this source Links to an external site.:

Who is the intended audience?

This is an interdisciplinary article written by a Professor of Japanese History and Culture. The intended audience might include researchers across a variety of disciplines interested in this topic.  

Does the author have authority? Why or why not?

After clicking on the author's name and doing a Google search, we find that he is faculty member in Japanese History and Culture. His faculty page states that he teaches modern Japanese history and other topics in East Asian history, as well as urban history and the world history of food. While he may not have a background to speak on MSG from a scientific perspective, he may be an authority to speak about the origins and cultural history of MSG. 

Is the publisher trustworthy?

The publisher is the journal Gastronomica, the Journal for Food Studies published through the University of California Press. More information about this journal can be found on it's website (Links to an external site.).  

From the About section:

Gastronomica is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, international journal publishing critical, translational studies on food. In the pages of Gastronomica, you will find examinations of historical trends and transformations in food and eating; analyses of the political, economic, and social dimensions of food production and consumption; research briefs on emerging issues in fields related to food research and innovation; and interviews with key figures in the world of food (scholars, activists, producers, and consumers). With cutting-edge research and explorations of the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of food studies, Gastronomica is your go-to resource for understanding the social, cultural, and historical dimensions of food.

Since Gastronomica is peer-reviewed and has been publishing for 20 years we can estimate that it is a well established and likely trustworthy journal. 

Does the author use citations? Do they tell you where they got their information?

This article contains many citations and references throughout, mostly to peer-reviewed and scientific articles. Instead of a bibliography, the article includes a section called 'Notes' in which all of its references are listed.

Final assessment

While different from a scientific article, a humanities or interdisciplinary article published in  a peer-reviewed journal will also make information about the author, their sources and the publisher readily available. After looking at these we can determine that the source and author are credible so it is safe to use this article as a source.

Click next to learn about evaluating another type of source.