There is no shortage of information available online, but how do you find the information that will be most useful?
Many sources of information contain inaccuracies and bias. How can you tell what to believe? Three of the Top Ten Research Skills for First Year University Students, as identified by the University of British Columbia, focus on evaluating sources.
To evaluate any source, you should know the differences between popular and academic/scholarly sources, and be able to apply the C.A.R.E.S criteria below.
Video: POPULAR VS. SCHOLARLY SOURCES (Hartness Library, Vermont Technical College, United States)
Text Explanation: POPULAR VS. SCHOLARLY SOURCES (University of Victoria Libraries)
Choosing Information
Starting with the sources on our school library learning commons site, especially the Research Toolkit, will help you find popular and scholarly sources — and provide you with helpful tools for organizing your information and citations. If you choose to use the worldwide web, ensure that you apply the C.A.R.E.S. criteria above.
Choosing Images & Multimedia
There are two considerations in choosing multimedia:
- Is the image real/authentic? Or has it been altered or photoshopped in any way? If so, could the intent be to deceive the viewer?
- Who created the image and is it licensed for me to use in my project? These details are referred to as attribution.
To satisfy both considerations, begin with the Creative Commons (CC) Search tool below; it is search tool that allow you to find images licensed for reuse or reuse with medication, and to cite them properly with correct attribution.
How to use the Creative Commons tool
- Enter a search term, then select licensed for reuse or reuse with modification.
- Always keep a record of the image’s URL; you will need to revisit the source of the multimedia you selected in order to retrieve information for citing it in your Reference List.
