An essential part of the academic process is the gathering of sources. Sources such as books, journal articles and webpages are essential for the researcher to gather information. Because academia is a constantly developing process that builds upon the work of those who came before you, it is no surprise that the intellectual progress it aims for is sometimes considered the “standing on the shoulders of giants”. Of course, not all sources are created equal, and the keen researcher has to prune disreputable sources and find the best ways to find the most relevant and reliable ones. How to do so?

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How to find sources?

First off, finding relevant sources can be done in many different ways. These include, but are not limited to, Google and Google Scholar, but also WorldCat Discovery (Tilburg University’s database), any of the various specialized databases or a visit to your local library. A good rule of thumb is that the quality of your sources often improves the more specialized method of searching you employ; a psychology-specific database will likely yield more usable results for a psychological essay, than will a random Google search.

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When using an academic search engine such as Google Scholar or WorldCat Discovery, finding the sources you need can generally be considered a two-step process. First, you design search terms in such a way that your prompt results in usable sources; second, you skim through the sources presented to you to assess their relevance and quality.

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Designing your search term in an academic search engine is best done by using the ‘Advanced Search’ function. The advanced search functions allow you to search for articles that contain (or do not contain) certain keywords and/or phrases, but also allow you to search for articles that were published in a specific period of time or in a specific journal. By taking your time to think about what (kinds of) information you need and designing your search commands accordingly, you greatly increase the chances of finding the information you need.

For more information about working with search engines, please refer to the InfoSkills for TSHD Students LibGuide, created by the Tilburg University Library. You can find this module here.

 

How to Determine the Relevance of the Literature Found?

Once you have employed your search terms, you next want to determine which sources might be relevant for your research. This can often be achieved by doing a very basic scan of the title of the articles presented to you; their abstracts, et cetera. You want to aim for getting some idea of what the source is about, and determine whether the source might be useful or not. It is often very easy to recognize when a source is not worth your time!

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If you determine that your source could be worth investigating, you can next read the introduction, the sections related to your topic, and the conclusion. You may also want to have a look at how many other sources have cited the source that you are using – an often-used source is likely reliable! At that point, you should likely have a good idea whether or not your source is useful. If your source seems perfect for what you aim to achieve, you may then want to consider reading it thoroughly in full; alternatively, you may decide to only read specific relevant sections to inform statements in your writing. That is up to you to decide.

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To reiterate, you may want to take the following steps:

1. Design search terms using ‘Advanced Search’

2. Skim the titles and/or abstracts of the sources presented. If it seems relevant…

3. Have a look at the number of sources that cite the source you are investigating. It is worth noting that not all databases provide this function. In Google Scholar, arguably the largest database that does have it, you can look at the “cited by” listing underneath the search result.

4. Open the document and read the abstract. If it seems relevant…

5. Read the introduction and/or the conclusion. If it still seems relevant, consider using it.

Even if your source seems very relevant however, that doesn’t mean it is necessarily reliable. The quality of a source is important to establish, as not all sources are created equally. To give an example; Google Scholar can show you both sources created by Nobel prize winners, as by Bachelor’s students!

 

How to Determine the Reliability of the Sources?

To determine the reliability of your sources, you may want to perform Critical Reading. This style of reading is meant to evaluate the quality of the writing presented to you. More information on how to perform Critical Reading can be found in the LibGuide of Tilburg University Library here.

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An alternative method to assess the reliability of your source is to use the 5Ws-Method, which is an exercise in becoming conscientious about your source’s characteristics. By using this method, you ask yourself and answer to the best of your abilities five questions about a source presented to you. They can guide you when in doubt about whether your source is reliable or not.

1. Who is the author of your work? What is their reputation, are they an authority in the field? A simple Google search is usually helpful here, as this might give you some insights into whether the author has an established reputation, if they are employed at a reputable institution, whether they have published a lot of articles, etc.

2. What is the source about? To what extent does it seem accurate? You may want to look up some extra sources on the same topic and cross-reference the main points which your source makes to determine this.

3. Where does the content come from? Which academic journal, website or publisher published it, and what is their reputation? Here too a simple Google search may be helpful, as this can often tell you whether a journal/website/publisher is reputable or relatively unknown.

4. Why does the source exist? With what purpose or objective was it written? Discovering this will allow you to interpret a source better; for example, a source that is sponsored by a specific company might be biased towards that company, or a Master’s Thesis (which some search engines include) might be deemed of lesser quality.

5. What is the quality of the source compared to others? Is there anything ‘special’ about it? For example, is your source considered a ‘key document’ in its field? Has it been praised by reviewers? Here too, a simple Google search may be helpful, as this may reveal to you whether there are any notable peculiarities about the source.

 

As you progress through your time at university, you will find that you will become more and more keen at determining which sources are, and which sources are not relevant and reliable. But this process requires a keen mind and careful attention to the sources you employ; ignoring the signs of an unreliable or irrelevant source can often cause harm or wasted time to your research efforts!