Using Information Sources

Any words, ideas, or images that you do not create yourself must be properly credited if you use them in your work. Why? Because you are using someone else's intellectual property.

Citing your information sources acknowledges the origin of your information, and it lends credibility to your work by showing evidence of your research. It demonstrates the authenticity of your information and enables your readers to locate your information sources, should they want to.

This includes all types of information sources that you may use, including:

• Books
• Articles (from print sources or online article databases)
• Interviews
• E-mail or any other correspondence
• Web pages
• Government documents
• Non-print media (videotapes, audiotapes, pictures, and images)
• Software or any digital formats

Whenever you use someone else's intellectual or creative "property," you need to provide a proper citation for your source, in order:

1. to give credit to the author or creator and
2. to enable your reader to locate the sources you cite.

A citation is a reference to the source of an idea, information, or image. A citation typically includes enough identifying information, such as the author, title, and publication format, for a reader to be able to access the source.

Testing the Credibility of Information Sources

The ability to interpret citations is a fundamental research skill! To do this you need to evaluate each source to ensure they are:

• Authoritative
• Objective
• Reliable
• Timely

Authoritative

Can the author be identified?

The authors of books and scholarly journal articles are identified. That may not be true of magazines, newspapers, and Web pages. If the author is unknown, then the credibility of your information source becomes even more important.

Is the author qualified to write on this topic?

Scholarly journals are more authoritative for your academic research purposes than popular magazines because the authors of scholarly journals are academically qualified to write about the topic, while the author of popular journals often summarises the opinions of people about a subject.

Some commercial online databases provide an option to limit search results to only peer-reviewed articles. While this option targets scholarly information sources, it significantly limits search results. (Peer-review is a system through which professionals in the same area as the researcher review his or her work to ensure its quality before the work is published.)

Objective

What is the purpose of the information that you have found? Is it to inform or persuade? This is not always easy to determine.

If the purpose is not apparent, consider the following questions:

• Is the language objective and impartial, or is it subjective and inflammatory?
• Does the information source make unsubstantiated or unrealistic claims?
• Is the information source affiliated with a group? If so, does the group have an obvious special interest?
• Is the source published by a commercial organization? If so, is its purpose to sell or promote a product, idea, or position?

Another important indicator is the intended audience. If the intended audience is distinguished by persons with a political view or in a certain profession, the content will likely be slanted in the direction of that audience's interests.

Reliable

Is the information that you have found reliable? How do you know? Use the following checklist to assess the reliability of your information source:

Purpose - Is the purpose of the information to inform, explain, persuade, market a product, or advocate a cause?

Scope - Is the content intended to be a brief overview of the information or an in-depth analysis?

Audience - Is it intended for the public, scholars, practitioners, etc.? Does it meet the needs of its stated audience?

Author - If the author is an individual, what are the author's credentials and affiliation? If the author is an institution, what is its purpose?

Bias - Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, or institutional biases? Is the information substantiated and documented? Is there a list of references used by the author?

Presentation - Is your information source professionally written? Is it well-organized? Does the conclusion support the thesis?

Date - Is the information source dated? Is it appropriately current for your information need?

Publisher  - What is the source of publication? Is it a university press, a government agency, an established publishing house, a special-interest organization, or an individual?

Timely

Is the currency or "timeliness" of your information an important consideration? It depends on your information need!

Caution: Avoid using any information source that isn't dated, unless the currency is not a consideration and you can assess the reliability of your information source by other means.

Types of Information Sources

When you need information, where do you go? Your choice of an information source will influence the kind of information you retrieve. Consider the specific attributes of information sources before you make your choice!

Journals

Some of the best and most cutting-edge research is published in scholarly journals. Some of the most current and newsworthy information is published in magazines. Journals and magazines are part of a genre of publications that are referred to as "periodicals".

The key is to know when to search for an article, rather than looking for a book or surfing the Web.

The following table identifies some of the characteristics that distinguish journals from magazines. If you are doing academic research and need authoritative information within a discipline, limit your search to journal articles. If you want current, practical information, look for magazine articles.

Books

It is estimated that less than 15% of the world's information is digitized. The vast majority of the world's information is available in print-only, much of it published in books. While the web may be a great source of current information, books are either the best source and/or the only source of other types of information. The key is to know when to search for a book. Books are the best/only source of information for Background information on all disciplines; History; Law; Philosophy; Science; Technical Manuals.

World Wide Web (www.)

The World Wide Web is generally accessible, convenient, and frequently fast. It provides a wealth of content, but the content can be uneven and difficult to verify. If you are using the Web as your sole source of information, beware!

The Web may or may not be the BEST information source for your need. How do you know when the Web is a good information choice? Consider the following questions:

Are you sacrificing quality for convenience? If you are, weigh the risks!

Is the information more current than other sources?

Is the information more authoritative than other sources?

Is the information more objective than other sources?

Is the information more reliable than other sources?

Does it provide unique coverage of your topic?

The Web is a self-publishing medium. There is no editorial or quality control over much of the content on the Web. Be a discriminate consumer of "information!"

The purpose of a Web site may be determined by the domain name in its URL, which is an indicator of the sponsoring organization.