GNED 1303 - J. Smith
Class objectives
By the end of the class, you should be able to...
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Differentiate between scholarly, popular, and web sources, recognizing the purpose and review process of each.
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Define what a scholarly article is and how the peer-review process works.
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Determine whether a website is appropriate for academic use by assessing author authority, evidence, purpose, and currency.
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Distinguish between general web search tools and academic discovery tools, selecting the most effective one for a research need.
Library activity
You will be completing a library actiity, which is due at the end of today's class. To find the quiz, navigate to your course D2L page.
Scholarly sources
Scholarly vs. Popular Sources
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.
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Scholarly / Peer-Reviewed |
Popular / Not Scholarly (but possibly still credible!) |
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Review Process |
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Audience / |
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Content |
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Sources |
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Examples |
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Some Helpful Questions for Identifying a Scholarly/Academic Article
Your search may turn up many different kinds of sources - editorials, letters to the editor, magazine/newsletter articles, and other news reporting.
Here are some tips on how to spot research studies.
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What are the author’s credentials? Was it written by an expert?
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Was it published in a journal (is there a DOI?)? (If you are not sure if a source is a journal article, you can enter the title of the publication into Ulrichs Web to check.)
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Does it use academic or more technical language?
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Does it includes a reference list of sources that it is citing?
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How long is it? (Scholarly articles are typically longer than popular or news articles.)
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Does it have a "Received" and "Accepted" date on it?
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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.)
Search tips
Reference databases include encyclopedias and dictionaries. These are great places to start your search and get familiar with your topic, as the articles are more accessible (easy to read).
TIP: Pay close attention to the key terms used in encyclopedia articles. These terms can be very helpful when searching for academic sources later.
Search for reference entries in LibrarySearch
Reference databases
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Credo Academic Core
An online reference library comprised of reference books including encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations, etc.
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Oxford Reference LibraryCross-searchable dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
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Canadian Reference Centre This link opens in a new window
Combines Canadian magazines, newspapers, newswires, reference books, biographies, and an image collection to create a collection of regional full text content.
LibrarySearch tips: Make sure to do the following
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Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.
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Use the pin icon to save books and articles to your Favourites for future reference.
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Use the filters on the right. You will use Availability, Resource Type, and Date filters most often. Filter settings can be "locked in" so that you don't have to reapply them to every search that you make.
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Some items may not be available; however, you can request unavailable items through a service called interlibrary loan.
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When viewing an item record, scroll down to the Get it (for hardcopy/physical items) or Access options (for electronic items) section to get access to the item.
Example keywords:
- Rwanda* OR "Rwandan genocide" OR "genocide against the Tutsi"
- UN OR "United Nations" OR "Security Council"
- "international response" OR "peacekeeping failure" OR "global inaction"
- "humanitarian intervention" OR R2P OR "Responsibility to Protect"
- peacebuilding OR "conflict transformation" OR reconciliation
Search examples:
- ("Rwandan genocide" OR Rwanda*) AND ("United Nations" OR "Security Council")
- peacekeeping AND (Rwanda OR "Rwanda genocide") AND (reconciliation OR resolution)
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a great tool for finding quality resources. Unlike regular Google Search, Google Scholar finds academic sources - namely, peer-reviewed articles, books, and grey literature (conference presentations, abstracts, theses, dissertations, and other reports).
- To show library access for up to 5 libraries, click the Settings icon, select Library Links, type “Mount Royal,” and save. If you’re logged into the MRU library, these links should appear automatically when searching.
- The Cited by feature helps you find related articles.
Helpful Search Operators to Use in Google Scholar
Advanced Search is in the menu icon (top left)
Use quotation marks to keep phrases together:
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Example: “Rwandan genocide”
You don’t need AND to combine terms. Google Scholar does this automatically.
Use OR to search for similar terms:
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Example: "post-genocide reconciliation" OR "post-conflict reconciliation"
Use truncation (*) to find different word endings:
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Example: ethic* will search for ethics, ethical, ethically
Use intitle: to search only in titles:
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Example: intitle:“Rwandan genocide”
Evaluating information
🔍 Evaluating Information Using RADAR
When you find search results, it’s important to evaluate if they’re good for your assignment. Use the RADAR method to check if a source is appropriate:
RELEVANCE
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Does it match my topic?
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Who is the source meant for, and is it the right fit for my assignment?
AUTHORITY
Who created it, and are they trustworthy?
Are they experts or qualified in this area?
DATE
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When was it made or published?
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Is it too old to be useful?
ACCURACY
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Are the facts correct?
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Does the source provide its own references?
REASON FOR CREATION
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Why was this source made?
🕸️ Evaluating Websites: A Brief Introduction
Not everything online is reliable. Websites can be created by anyone, for any reason. That’s why it’s essential to evaluate them carefully before citing or relying on them.
For further information, see Concordia Library's guide to evaluating websites.
🔍 Tips for evaluating websites
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Author / Authority: Is the author clearly named? Do they have relevant credentials or institutional affiliation?
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Accuracy / Evidence: Are claims backed by citations, data, or links to trustworthy sources?
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Purpose / Bias: Why was this made? Is it trying to persuade, inform, or sell something? Is it overly opinionated?
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Currency: When was the content published or last updated? Are links broken?
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Relevance: Does it cover your specific topic (e.g. genocide, reconciliation) in depth, or just superficially?
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Domain / URL Clues: Is it .edu, .gov, .org, or a commercial site?
