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 certain purposes and it doesn't really make one format of information better than another. It is up to us to discern what information process best fits our information need.
• In your own creation process, understand that your choices in what type of information you use, impacts 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

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Weaknesses: too short, print encyclopedias are out of date quickly, Wikipedia has reliability issues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

Primary Sources
Strengths: Original sources (include, but are not limited to recordings, diaries, autobiography, artifact, constitutions, acts, edicts, cases
Weaknesses: Hard to find, hard to cite, hard to remember if they fall within primary or secondary categories.

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?) If you are not sure if it is a journal article enter the title of the publication into Ulrichs Web
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. 

Activity 

To make sure we are all on the same page, let's put our knowledge to the test. Skim the following resources available through the links.  Keeping in mind the characteristics we have discussed in class (eg: what is this information and where did it come from? Was it written by an expert? Where is this source published?).  Vote whether you think this source is Academic/Scholarly or Not Academic/Popular.  If this is a popular source...use your critical eye and think about the quality or credibility of this source, and if this is something you could use for your paper proposal/research paper.

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Source 4

Source 5

Source 6

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. 
 

Optimizing Google 

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)

Finding Stats and Data

• OECD Health Data Contains data on the health systems of OECD countries including health status, medical resources, health expenditures, costs and flow, and non-medical determinants of health from 1960 forward.

• International Financial Statistics - International Monetary Fund (IMF) Contains approximately 32,000 time series data on all aspects of international and domestic finance, covering more than 200 countries

• Statistics Canada (English) Statistics Canada provides information on Canada's economy, society and environment. Search the site or browse The Daily for key information.

• FAOSTAT Food & Agriculture Organization
• UN Data new and improved portal to the many UN databases, with a single search interface
• World Health Organization Statistical Information System (WHOSIS) interactive database bringing together core health statistics for the 193 WHO Member States.
• Human Development Index and Human Development Data The UNDP measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living.

Activity 

Take a look at the sources below and address the following questions

• What type of source is this? (e.g. peer reviewed journal article, government publication, etc)
• Is this source trustworthy enough to use for an assignment in this course? Why or why not?

Source 1: Evolution of drinking straws and their environmental, economic and societal implications

Source 2: Single-use plastics prohibition regulations - Overview

Source 3: Canada's wasteful plan to regulate plastic waste

Key questions when evaluating sources

When assessing the quality of a source, here are some questions to consider:

Celia Brinkerhoff, Doing Research, CC-BY-4.0

• 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.