Evaluation of Scholarly Sources

For this blog post I will conduct further research into the controversy about families having exemptions for their children so that they do not get vaccinations for diseases prior to enrolling in schools.  I will assess specific questions regarding each of my sources.

Waldrop, Reuel. "Vaccination campagne". 28 December 2006 via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

Source 1:

What is the purpose of this source?
The purpose of the specific journal that I have chosen to research was to inform readers how the occurrence of nonmedical exemptions from school vaccination mandates and the association of these policies with the prevalence of vaccine-preventable disease.

Where was this source published?
This specific source that I found helpful for research of the statewide vaccination controversy was from the American Journal of Public Health.  The journal was published through a peer review before being accepted on July 6, 2014.

What kinds of sources does this source cite?
The journal being as informative as it is includes over seventy references, many which included doctors and writers.  It specifically referenced data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The citations included in this journal are only ones that are from the reference's sources themselves.  The authors do not favor a certain decision or claim made in their journal to persuade readers in one way or another but only serves a purpose of informing readers about the numerous facts and statistics that are associated with people who use nonmedical exemptions from having their children being immunized.    

Who is/are the author(s) of this source? 
Author Eileen Wang conducted the analysis for the article, drafted the article, and prepared figures and tables for it.  Authors Jessica Clymer and Cecilia Davis-Haynes conducted the systemic search for the article, reviewed abstracts, and conducted data extraction for the article.  Alison Buttenheim originated and guided the study and revised the article.  All of authors are currently with departments of the history and sociology of science, the college of physicians and surgeons, and the school of nursing.

Who is the source's intended audience?
Readers of this article should have at least basic knowledge about the ongoing controversy.  People who are more aware of the subject will gain a better understanding from the facts presented in this journal.

Source 2:

What is the purpose of this source?
The purpose of this specific journal was to narrow down results of the school immunization requirements for children at state level.  The study conducted in this journal compares the state of New York's private versus public schools with respect to medical and religious exemption rates.

Where was this source published?
This source was published from Elsevier, a publishing company that produced a specific journal called Vaccine.  It was revised on 24 October 2014 and accepted on 28 October 2014.

What kinds of sources does this source cite? 
This journal is also an informative one, having almost fifty references.  It specifically referenced data from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the New York State Education Department, the Council for American Private Education, and the CDC.  The only citations included in this journal were only ones specifying a few religions.  The citations do not give way to the authors' positions in this journal and are there as a necessity in writing.

Who is/are the authors(s) of this source?
 Author Yun-Kuang Lai is part of the Albany School of Public Health, State University of New York, University of Albany.  Authors Jessica Nadeau and Louise-Anne McNutt are part of the Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, State University of New York.  Author Jana Shaw is part of the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital, State University of New York.

Who is the source's intended audience?
Readers of this journal I assume will usually be people who are more knowledgeable about the school immunization requirements along with having a basic understanding of the differences and similarities between private and public schools' requirements for immunizations.