What is authority? What do we mean by context and construction?
 

Authority: When we talk about information and authority, we mean to say that some information is more credible or more trustworthy than other information. For example, in a university setting, you will often hear your profs ask for "scholarly articles" or mention "peer reviewed" as a requirement for research or information that you integrate into your assignments. For many types of academic work, scholarly (written by scholars) or peer-reviewed (checked over by scholars) means you can trust the accuracy of the information or the conclusions drawn by experts. 
 

Context: When we talk about information and context, we mean to say that the authority of the information depends on who produced it, why it was produced and how it is to be used within the context of its use. 

While peer-reviewed journal articles are important types of information, in some assignments or disciplines the only acceptable form of information, we must also understand that there are other sources of information that may matter or complement items depending on the how or for what purpose it is to be used.
 

Constructed? When you research and write your paper, you will be looking for "scholarly" information and may need to draw on information gathered from various sources to convey your topic - using sources that are considered reputable, trustworthy or valuable you will be building or constructing for yourselves authority and credibility. 

Searching for information...

There are a number of places that you can begin your search for information related to your chosen / assigned novel. We can look at a few ways to approach finding a scholarly source together.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar searches broadly and broadly defines "scholarly" BUT you can use it to locate things online OR identify those held by MRU that you can access by coming to the library.

• Don't forget to use "Settings" then "Library Links" and select MRU Library to make the stuff WE have visible to you

Chaining means using one piece information that is relevant and valuable to find another. This is where citations come in handy or the bibliographic information in them can be valuable.

• Try searching the citation and using "cited by" to find items on same / similar topics
• Try searching a known author's name to find other publications by the same researchers

*NB: You can also use "regular google" and restrict to only certain web domains or sites:

• add site:.edu to restrict to largely us-based academic or educational sites

Library Search

MRU Library's Library Search is probably the broadest way to search for books, book chapters, articles, reference entries and more. You can:

• Use "quotation marks" keep things together in the order they occur - good for titles, author names, specific expressions, etc
• Use filters on the righthand side to narrow to a particular:
  • item type
  • format
  • range of publication, etc
• Email a record or citation to yourself
• Find the link to the full-text *don't forget to download and email yourself any pdf articles that you want to read and use later 

Background or Biographical information

The library subscribes to a number of online encyclopedias and reference works that can be considered scholarly (depending on which ones). These can provide useful background and factual info. 

• Try checking out some of the resources listed on the "Background resources" section of this webpage
• Search Library Search and limit to "reference entries"

Consider criteria or do some lateral reading

Lateral Reading - Sorting Fact from Fiction

It is often not simple or straightforward to tell what a piece of information is, what biases exist, and how credible the author or producer is at first glance, particularly in a digital environment. Let's watch this short video about Lateral Reading:

Use your RADAR to evaluate a source of information

The RADAR Framework is a tool to help you remember the criteria used to evaluate the quality, credibility, and relevance of any source of information. 

Relevance – How relevant is the information to your assignment?

• Does the information relate to your topic or answers your research question?
• Does this source cover what you need to establish your authority or do you need more sources on specific aspects of your topic? 
• Consider your audience and compare what you find - don't just settle for the first one that comes along.

Authority – Who/what is the source (author, publisher) of the information?

• Who is the author? Does the author have credibility through education, affiliation or experience to be writing on the topic?
• If there is no author listed, evaluate the authority of the organization / publisher / website that published the information.

Date – When was the information first published or last updated? And does it matter?

• Do you need the most recent information on your topic?
• Consider that historical sources may need to be used to provide context or background.

Appearance – What does the source of information look like?

• Consider where the information was published. Is it published as a webpage, in an academic journal, a book or a blog?
• Consider the presentation of the information - information supported by evidence and citations are more credible, while editorials, opinion pieces, and blog posts may be more subjective.
• Check who/what the author references and evaluate the quality of the information they use to support their argument.
• Check for advertisements - inclusion of ads isn't necessarily a red flag, but it may be depending on the content of the ads (are they related to the content in the source?)

Reason (for creation) – Why was the information published in the first place?

• Consider if the information was created to inform, teach, entertain, persuade, sell something, or for some other reason.
• Are there any clear biases in the information? To what degree is the information objective and impartial?

RADAR is not a yes/no test, it depends on the context of your use of the information, in this case the assignment requirements. Use RADAR to consider the relative quality of information as you are searching.
 

Let's try a few in small groups

How to use information ethically

Citation is giving attribution to researchers, scholars, activists and other knowledge and information-producers. It is also demonstrating your authority to your reader (it's where you got your information because you did real research).

The reasons you cite:

• To give credit where credit is due – to avoid plagiarizing
• To give information about a source so people can find it

You need to cite:

• In text
• At the end (reference list)

Another great resource for citation, formatting and writing support is the OWL at Purdue