ACADEMIC SOURCES

What is an academic source? An academic source represents a scholarly writing that is reviewed by peers. Most of these will be found in a reference directory. These will represent secondary sources. Primary sources by contrast are original sacred text, personal (non published) interviews, etc. Academic sources will generally be found on government or education sites on the web, as well, books and journals.

Why use an academic source? Have you ever received feedback on an assessment telling you that the sources you used were not academic? Have you ever used non-academic source in your research? Do you have trouble knowing where to get information you needed for research? Academic source are requested because the material has been researched, investigated, reviewed, and fact checked. They are not simply opinion pieces.

Being able to tell the difference between an academic source and a non-academic source, knowing where to find academic sources and deciding what sources are relevant to your research are important skills that you will develop during your tertiary studies. Further, simply goggling information or using non-academic websites will often result in a failing grade because evidence used is not considered valid!

Books, monographs and textbooks First, you should go is the library, even if this means ordering in books from other libraries. For academics to have their books (and journal) published, they must go through a process called peer-reviewing. During this process, one or more academics who are experts in the field will read and assess a book or article to decide if it is of publishable standard.

This is why your research will be of high quality if you use books, monographs, textbooks and journal articles written by academics for your research. There is no such process for publishing on the internet; anyone can write whatever they like on any subject.

Journal articles and electronic databases Second, conceder journal articles. Some will only be available in hardcopy from the library, but many are available through online electronic databases, such as JStore and ProQuest. (Access to these databases is through the university library catalogue.)

When you search the electronic databases, modify your search so that you are only given results from peer-reviewed journals. This will ensure that the journal articles you find have gone through the process explained above. You can also search so that you only receive results for articles that are available in their full electronic versions.

Internet resources As explained above, information uploaded to the internet does not have a standard. Anyone can publish anything on the internet, thus websites are not the ideal place for information. When you do use the internet and website, you need to be sure that you are consulting reputable sources. For example, websites published by governments, universities, the United Nations and national organisations like the United Way, will generally contain quality information.

However, it is important to note that these sources are not academic sources if they have not been written by academics. Nonetheless, unless you have been specifically requested by your tutor or lecturer to only use sources written by academics, you can often find valuable information from these reputable websites. Be careful that you know exactly who has published the information on the internet and be sure to record the exact URL for your reference list.

Where to go for more information The above information is only a guide and ultimately where you find most of your sources will depend on what your essay topic is. For example, if you were writing a Sociology essay on the media you would need to consult newspapers, television programmes and internet news websites.

If you are in doubt about what types of sources to use, check your course information booklet for more information about your particular assessment piece. Find out if there is a recommended reading list that you can begin with and then use the sources listed in those readings to find further sources. If you are still not sure, check with your instructor.