Why using good sources matter...

When you endeavor to find sources related to a topic of interest for your academic writing, you are demonstrating a number of skills

• You are able to synthesize a variety of information and integrate it into your own work
• You are able to investigate the dialogue that has occurred related to an area of interest and engage in that conversation through your academic writing
• Using good, credible reliable sources will elevate the accuracy and authority of your own work

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

Information, in any format, is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method.  The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting produce reflects these differences (ACRL par. 13).

• Information creations are valued differently depending on the context and purpose for which they are created
• Audience matters. Certain things are created for specific purposes and don't make one format of information better. It is up to us to discern what information process best fits our information needs.
• In your own creation process, understand that your choices in what type of information you use, impact the purpose for which the information product you create will be used and the message it conveys.

Source: Project Cora https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/information-spectrum

A scholarly publication contains articles written by experts in a particular field. The primary audience of these articles is other experts. ... Many of these publications are also referred to as "peer-reviewed", academic or "refereed". They all mean essentially the same thing and refer to the editorial and publication process in which scholars in the same field review the research and findings before the article is published.

1. What are the author’s credentials? Is it written by an expert?
2. Published in a journal (is there a DOI?) 
3. Academic language
4. Includes reference list
5. Length
6. A "Received" and "Accepted" date
7. Is it an actual article? Sometimes other types of content are included in scholarly publications, such as editorials/opinion pieces and book reviews.  Make sure you are looking at an article. 

Encyclopedias 

Strengths: short, contains background information on a topic, normally a great starting point when you are just learning about a topic

Weaknesses: too short, print encyclopedias are out of date quickly, Wikipedia has reliability issues

Books

Strengths: Provides an in-depth investigation into a topic

Weaknesses: too long, sometimes hard to tell whether it is scholarly

Media Sources (news, online magazine articles)

Strengths: Good for current information

Weaknesses: Sometimes biased, sometimes written to entertain, often not written by experts

Websites & Social Media

Strengths: Highly accessible, includes government info

Weaknesses: It is hard to assess credibility and reliability...anyone can post online or create a website

Scholarly Journal Articles

Strengths: often based on research findings or extensive review, written by experts, reviewed by experts, provides evidence

Weaknesses: Sometimes written using discipline-specific language or terminology, hard to understand

Take a look at the following (you don't have to read the entire document) and try to evaluate whether it is scholarly/peer-reviewed or not scholarly.  Anita was specific in her instructions that you need to find at least 3 academic article or book to support your writing assignment.  Ask yourself would you use the following examples as a source for your assignment to meet the criteria previously discussed? Was it created for the scholarly community?  Consider the credibility of the source - who wrote it? Are they an expert? Why did they write it?  Where did you find it? 

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Source 4

Source 5

Source 6

Source 7

[Caption: Adapted popular meme of Canadian national treasure Drake, split into two images.  The first images Drake is rejecting bad sources when credibility is difficult to discern.  In the second image, Drake is happy and approves of sources that contain verified, credible information, especially sources academic in nature.]

There is a lot of different information out there about romance scams.  You will likely use a combination of scholarly and popular resources to support your writing assignment.  Remember: the more credible and verified sources you use, the more credible your own voice will be in your writing.  Stay away from biased news, information that was created to entertain or sources where it isn't clear who created the content.

Figure 1. Copely, R. Huge stand in the market with a large selection of fruits [Photograph]. Pixy.org. https://pixy.org/143529/

Take a look at this photo and type in words you would use to describe it, thinking about how you could go about searching for a similar photo...

Type your answers in the boxes at this link

Questions to consider

• Are you using the terminology that an expert in the field would use?
• Is there more than one way to spell the word?
• Are there any synonyms or other terms that could apply to your topic?

Using MRU Library

Library Search

 **Please note that with the campus closure, the library is also closed with the exception of a select few study spaces and a computer lab that is accessible by card on the 1st floor.  You can request print material and other physical items in advance and pick them up curbside.  

Things to remember when using Library Search:

1. Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.

2. Use the pin icon to save books and articles. 

3. Use the filters on the right. You will use Availability, Resource Type, and Date filters most often.

4. Some items won't be available. You can request unavailable items using interlibrary loan.

5. When viewing an item record, scroll down to the Get It or Full-Text section to get the item.

You can search in a way to combine or omit different terms by telling the search engine exactly what you want…this can help you save some time (and frustration!)

• Use quotation marks to keep phrases together - "romance scams"

• Use  AND to combine search terms - "romance scams" AND victim AND theory

• Use OR to connect two or more similar terms - ("online dating scam" OR "romance scam")

• Use wild cards to substitute a letter or suffix with a symbol - scam*

Using Google 

Search Google Scholar

Google Scholar is another great way to find peer-reviewed/scholarly material. Google scholar has a nifty citation chaining function.  The Cited by function will forward you to indexed scholarly material that has cited an article that you may be interested in.  The Related Articles link will direct you to similar articles that may have the same metadata or keywords. 

The Advanced Search is found by clicking the menu icon (top left).
Besides providing links to articles in MRU databases, Google Scholar links to online repositories that contain articles the author has been allowed to upload.  Academia.edu and ResearchGate are among the repositories searched by Google Scholar.

By clicking on the Settings icon, you can select library links to show library access for up to 5 libraries (type in Mount Royal and click on save).  If you are logged into MRU library, links should automatically populate if you are running a Google search in another window. 
 

Note: Google uses different commands: ~; -; +; but AND/OR also works

If you are searching Google (not Google Scholar), you can also limit your search to show specific websites. Eg:

• site:un.org (United Nations)
• site:unicef.org (United Nations Children's Fund)
• site:en.unesco.org (UNESCO)
• site:worldbank.org (World Bank)
• site:wto.org (World Trade Organization)

Using CanLII to find Scholarly Information

Overview of CanLII

CanLII (The Canadian Legal Information Institute) is a freely available database powered and supported by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.  Content focuses on Canadian primary law sources that include: 

• Jurisprudence (Federal and Provincial case law, tribunal decisions)
• Legislation (Federal and Provincial statutes and regulations)

You can also search CanLII for secondary law sources or legal commentary using CanLII Connects (case summaries and commentaries) and CanLII Docs (books, journals, articles, reports and research papers).  Please note that this isn't an exhaustive database (there are other subscription databases with quite a bit more content and value added features), but CanLII is a great start that is accessible to all Canadians. 

Searching CanLII

Finding Commentary

If you are looking for information related to a legal topic (very specific to jurisprudence or the Criminal Code for example), it is recommended that you run a search in CanLII in addition to MRU library. MRU library subscribes to many amazing databases that focus more on commentary from social scientists and criminologists.  CanLII has a robust collection of legal commentary (lawyers, judges, students at law, and other members of the legal community).  Most of the material in the Commentary section in CanLII are from legal academic journals. **But beware.  Anyone who signs up for a Lexum account can add an article.  Make sure you are looking at something reputable (eg: Law School Journal).  Make sure you look at the author's credentials.  Sometimes blog posts and student commentary is published on CanLII and although most of the time these are great resources, sometimes there are inaccuracies in the legal interpretation. 

 Add / Reorder  

Where to Look

• Cite Sources: Learn the correct way to cite sources by using these guides, tutorials, and videos.
• Referencing Webinars: APA & MLA. Referencing Webinars are 75 minutes long.  Registration is required.
• Online Appointments: Personalized online 30-minute appointments with a Learning Strategist.