LibGuides: Research Process: Determine Best Sources

Determine Best Sources SG

2A: Select Types of Sources

2B: Locate Research Tools

2C: Determine Citation Style & Track Citations

Locate Research Tools

Locate Research Tools
Research tools include databases to find articles, and the library catalog to locate books. Learn more about the differences here.

Library Databases

Library Catalog

Types of Sources

Each database may contain

Scholarly articles
magazine or newspaper articles
Trade publications
Primary sources
Multimedia materials

Subject Coverage

Some databases are general and offer overviews of all subjects, other database are subject specific.

The library website offers Subject access to the databases.

Ask a librarian for help in selecting the appropriate database for your research.

Types of Sources

Access to print materials held in the library, e-books, and DVDs, as well as materials availabe for Interlibrary loan through the Ocean State Libraries consortium.

Subject Coverage:

The library catalog includes materials on all subject areas.

Why can't I just search Google? From URI Libraries

Types of Sources

Source Type	Description
Scholarly Articles & Books	Introduce new knowledge based on original research. Many scholarly articles undergo the peer-review process through which experts in the field scrutinize articles before they are published, resulting in high quality scholarly information.
Professional & TradeArticles	Specialized publications inform and update people who work in a particular industry or occupation about current trends and events in that industry or occupation.
Newspaper & Magazine Articles	Provide a range of information that may entertain, relay current events, information, or present educated opinions. While this information may be helpful for some assignments, it is not considered scholarly.
Websites	Websites can be created by anyone, and can change at any time, so be sure to evaluate an website you use.
Primary Sources	Provide first-hand knowledge of the time period in which it was created, or the event to which it refers, or original research. They are free of analysis by scholars.
Images, Audio & Video	The library provides access to many databases that contain images, audio and video. Many are freely available online as well.

Scholarly Journals / Popular Magazines

How do I know if an article is scholarly?

Your teacher assigned a research paper that requires you to use scholarly sources. What does "scholarly" mean? How do you know if you've found a scholarly article?

What does scholarly mean?

A scholarly article introduces new knowledge based on original research or experimentation. Many scholarly articles undergo a process called peer-review. In this process, experts in the field scrutinize articles before they are published, resulting in a body of quality scholarly information.

How do you know if you've found a scholarly article?

If you find an article through a web search, you need to determine if it is scholarly. Even if you find an article in a database, you may not be looking at a scholarly article as some databases index many types of publications. Use this chart to help you distinguish between scholarly and popular publications.

Characteristic	Scholarly	Popular
Advertisements	Few, usually for publications	Numerous, color
Appearance	Black and white, plain, charts, graphs	Color, slick, glossy, illustrations, photographs
Audience	Professors, researchers	General public
Author	Scholar, academic, expert	Journalists
Editing	Peer review	Magazine editors
Language	Specialized vocabulary	Simple, accessible
Publisher	University press, research institutes, scholarly press, professional organizations	Commercial, for-profit
Purpose/Intent	Original research, methodology, theory	Entertain, inform, sell, promote
Documentation	Footnotes, bibliographies, works cited	Sources rarely cited

Attribution

Adapted from the original Research Tracker created at DiMenna-Nyselius Library, Fairfield University, Fairfield CT.