Success Strategies in Higher Education: Research Process

You may find sources in the Internet or in your university library's catalog, no matter where you look, always evaluate a source.

Currency: 

• Is the information current enough for your needs?
• When was it published?

Reliability:

• Is the information based on fact or opinion?
• Are the claims supported by facts and trustable data?
• Is the information well-balanced, objective, and non-biased? 
• Does the author attribute sources?

Authority:

• Who is the author?
• What is the affiliation of the author?
• What are the credentials?
• What publishing house supports the publication?

Accuracy:

• Is the article/book peer-reviewed?
• Do you see grammatical errors?
• Does it look legitimate?
• Does the author provides contact information?

Purpose: 

• What is the intent of the work?
• What is the domain of a website?
• Who is the target audience?

When looking for information, your first step is to find background information to have an overview of the topic. Background sources will connect you to essential terms associated with the subject matter, dates, names, and other information that will help refine your search. You can find background information in general and subject-specific encyclopedias, dictionaries, and even textbooks.

Many library databases have advanced search screens like this: