When searching for information for your university studies, it is essential to reflect on the material you find and judge its suitability. Here, we will go through what you can consider when deciding whether the source you have found is suitable for your purpose. The focus is on scholarly sources.
A source is something from which you get information. It can be a person, a text, a web page, a picture, a letter or similar. This page focuses on scholarly material such as scholarly articles, books, theses, book chapters and conference papers.
Different sources are suitable in different contexts
You will need to choose different types of sources depending on how and when you will use them. For example, if you use a source to support your research question in an essay, it is appropriate to use scientific material. However, suppose you want to show that what you are writing about is topical or important to a professional group. In that case, articles in newspapers and trade journals may be appropriate.
It is important to reflect on whether the material is appropriate for the context in which you intend to use it. In the academic world, you are expected to use credible and factual sources and clearly show which sources you have used by referring to them. Your sources should be based on facts and knowledge, not conjecture or guesswork.
Primary source or secondary source?
Primary or first-hand sources contain original data that has not been filtered. These include original scientific articles, scientific books and theses. Primary sources include information from someone who has experienced something firsthand, like letters and diaries, or a researcher talking about their research.
Secondary or second-hand sources build on primary sources by, for example, summarising, analysing or critically reviewing them. Secondary sources include review articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Other types of secondary sources may consist of popular science articles and books or articles in professional journals. These may describe and reproduce research but do not present original data and are often written by non-scientists, such as journalists.
A standard method for evaluating a source is to ask questions about its origin, purpose, timeliness and content. Based on the answers to these questions, you will get guidance on whether the material is possible to use in the context in which you intend to use it.
Who is responsible for the content?
What is the purpose of the material?
Which target group is the material aimed at?
When was the material created?
Can you trust the content?
What does the reference list tell you?
What types of sources and how many relevant sources are cited? This can show how well the author knows their field and how the author relates to other researchers in the area.
Analysing academic text using critical reading.
A tutorial describing how to evaluate sources. From Western University.
Do you feel lost among different sources, databases and scholarly publications? Visit our drop-in sessions or make an appointment for a tutorial and we will help you. You can also submit short questions via chat or the contact form or ask the staff at the information desk.