Searching for a source

A fundamental stage of the writing process is to research for information that can be included
in your work in order to enhance its credibility and present a strong argument. Before
commencing your research, it is important to analyse the assignment task so that you know
exactly what is expected of you. If you do not fully understand the task, finding relevant
information will be a challenging and time-consuming process.
Once you are familiar with the requirements of an assignment, a useful place to begin your
research is the provided course material. Most modules will specify an e-book as well as
supplementary reading material which can be consulted throughout the course. However, you
will also need to expand your research by including other academic sources when writing an
assignment. You should generally avoid searching the open web for scholarly sources as
anything could be uploaded on the open web. Instead, you should search for sources via
online libraries or other online bibliographic databases where sources are carefully selected
and added by librarians or subject experts.

Unicaf University students have access to ProQuest, a digital library that offers a large
selection of full-text journals, books, periodicals, newspapers and many more. Complete
databases from all over the world in all subject areas are available through ProQuest.
It is important to keep in mind that you can access the library resources by clicking on
‘Online Library’ included in your modules. You will not need to use any log in credentials
(username and password) in order to do so.
For more information on how to search for sources using the ProQuest library, please watch
the following video tutorials:

- Basic Search
- Advanced Search

Other search engines and databases where you can find a huge amount of resources for
your research work include:
- Google Scholars
- Science Direct
- Sage Journals
- Open Access to Academic Literature

You can further extend your research by looking at the reference list of relevant sources you
come across and trying to find titles which seem appropriate for your task.

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 Evaluating the relevance and credibility of a source

Choosing a relevant source

When searching for sources to use in an assignment, you will surely come across an extensive
volume of sources which appear relevant to your task. In order to efficiently cope with this
volume and find the sources which are most appropriate for your assignment in a timely
manner, you will need to employ certain strategies:
1. Before commencing your search, try brainstorming relevant ideas. This can help narrow
your focus while reading since you will already have an idea of what to look for while reading.
2. Survey the sources to check for relevant information. Book sources contain a table of
contents at the beginning which can be used to determine whether it contains relevant
information. For journal articles, a good place to start would be the abstract, which outlines
the purpose, approach and findings of the study. Finally, most sources have headings, which
can be useful for locating specific information.
3. Skim texts (read rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material) to decide
whether they are suitable.
4. Scan texts (read rapidly in order to find specific information) to search for relevant terms
or concepts which you wish to incorporate in your assignment.

Choosing a credible source

It is essential that you always use reliable and valid sources. When you conduct your
research and collect your sources, you should evaluate them and question their credibility.
The sources used in your academic work should be scholarly and scientific in order for your
paper to be reliable in the academic context.
Popular sources should only be used when the purpose of your research requires the
gathering of information from popular sources. When popular sources are used, scholarly
sources are necessary as well.

Some general questions to ask yourself when evaluating a source are:

▪ Is the source scholarly or popular?
▪ Who wrote the source?
▪ Does the source appear to contain bias?
▪ Can this information be corroborated in another source?

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Scholarly sources
Books, conference publications, and academic journal articles, regardless of whether they are
print-based or electronic, are common types of scholarly material, which share the following
characteristics:
Reviewed: Quality sources such as journals which are refereed or articles that are peer-
reviewed. Such sources are examined and evaluated by editors or other scholars before
they are published.
Written by (an) expert author(s): Sources which are written by researchers, scholars
and experts of a particular field of research (philosophers, linguists, psychologists, doctors,
mathematicians, etc.).
Specific target audience: Sources that address a particular audience, e.g. researchers,
academics, students.
Accuracy and reliability: Sources based upon reliable and academic sources,
acknowledged and fully cited. Advanced language skills: Sources which make use of
specialised terms and scientific language. They presuppose a certain level of pre-
knowledge or background on the topic.
Length: Research articles and other academic sources are usually long as they
extensively examine and analyse a particular topic.
Examples of scholarly journals: Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review,
Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business and Psychology, Journal of Managerial
Psychology, JSTOR, SAGE Journals, Elsevier Journal, Taylor and Francis Online Journals.

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Popular sources
Magazines, newspapers, internet articles and sources, etc. are common types of popular
material, which share some of the following characteristics:
Author not always an expert: Sources which are usually written by journalists or writers
for a general audience.
Wide target audience: Sources address the general public.
Beginner language skills: Sources which make use of easy language (not specialised
knowledge).
Length: Sources which are usually shorter than journal articles.
Accuracy and reliability: Sources which tend to avoid complete citations or references
for sources.
Examples of popular sources: The Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, Psychology
Today, Forbes.

Internet articles and sources

A good researcher should question the credibility of online sources. A good way to identify the
credibility of online sites is to check the domain name of the link. There are three main types
of credible sites:
Governmental (.gov)
Educational (.edu)
Academic (.ac)

Wikipedia: Wikipedia is an online source of information that can be a useful tool when you are
seeking for general information to comprehend a topic. However, Wikipedia is not a suitable
or acceptable tool for your academic assignments. Despite this, the sources listed at the
bottom of a Wikipedia page are often valid academic sources worth examining.