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Finding Credible Sources for Your Research Paper - ResearchReady.com

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Referencing is when you acknowledge other peoples’ work and provide the reader with enough information to locate the sources you have used.
Plagiarism happens when a student submits an assignment that contains work that is not their own, without acknowledging their sources in the form of references.
Referencing is one aspect of developing good academic practice, an essential skill to learn at univerity.

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If you use a source which simply addresses your topic, It is not enough.
It's time to think about an appropriate academic source

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What should you find for your assessment

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What should you find for your assessment

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Plan what you search for your assessment

1. Write your overall research aim (Using Mind map or just make notes)

2. Write search terms (key words, important themes, etc.)

3. Set your priorities

For more guidance

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If you have a large number of results you will first want to filter them to take out any that are not relevant.
A quick way of judging the quality and relevance of a source, especially on the Internet is to ask:

Who is the author of the source? Who put the information there (who owns the site)? What authority or expertise do they have in this area?

Why was the source created?

When was the source last updated?

For journal articles, peer review can provide a guide to academic quality, but you should still carry out your own evaluation, to be sure the information meets your needs.

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Also, you can use the CRAAP test to assess whether you have found an appropriate academic source.
This test helps you to evaluate your sources by using five criteria.

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https://nusearch.nottingham.ac.uk/primo-explore/search?vid=44NOTUK&facet=rtype,exclude,reviews,lk

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https://scholar.google.com/

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Currency

The timeliness of the source

When was the information published/posted?

Do you have the most up-to-date version/edition?

Is it important to have current information, or will older sources work as well?

Websites: Are links in the text working?

Relevance
How important the information is to you

Does the information relate to your research?

Who is the intended audience?

Is the information at an appropriate level i.e. not too simple/too advanced for your needs?

Have you looked at a range of sources to be able to judge if this source is relevant?

Authority
Where the information came from

Who is the author/publisher?

What are the credentials of the author/organisation?

Can you trust the source? What are their credentials?

Websites: Is contact information provided?

Websites: Is it easy for you to find out more about the author/ organisation?

Websites: What is the domain name e.g. co.uk?

Accuracy
T he reliability of the source

Where does the information come from?

Is the information supported by evidence?

Has the information been reviewed or refereed?

Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?

Are there spelling or grammar mistakes?

Purpose
the reason the information exists

What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell etc.?

Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda?

Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?

Is there any bias (e.g. political, cultural, personal)?

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Enter search terms
In the search box, type the key terms for the topic you are searching for.

Search results
Compare the result of the same search conducted using 'Google scholar' and University of Nottingham library search engine 'Nu search'

Filtering your Search
By filtering your results, you can narrow down your search to find the most relevant sources.

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By asking yourself a number of questions about your source, you should be able to decide whether it is suitable for your assignment.

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Searching books using :

words from the title

or an author's name

a particular topic

a phrase "in quotes"

Find a book using search results
Find a book and get the information you want.

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✔️ Library Search
✔️ Google scholar
✔️ NU search

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Whenever you have time,      Find a source

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Whenever you have time,      Find a source

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Read various sources as many as possible. The more information you get, the better sources you can find.

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Keeping track of what you find and acknowledging your sources

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Keeping track of what you find and acknowledging your sources

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For any material you consult it is a good idea to record what you find, and where and when you found it.
This will make it easier to reference your sources correctly and retrace your steps if you need to.
For more guidance see Referencing and plagiarism.

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What is referencing and plagiarism?

Referencing is when you acknowledge other peoples' work and allow the reader to locate the sources you have used. Plagiarism happens when a student submits an assignment that contains work that is not their own, without acknowledging their sources in the form of references. Referencing is one aspect of developing good academic practice, an essential skill to learn at University.

From October 2020 the OU is starting to implement Cite Them Right Harvard referencing guidance, which will eventually replace OU Harvard across most modules.

During this transition you may see Cite Them Right Harvard or OU Harvard referencing guidance in your module.

If your module has switched to Cite Them Right Harvard, use that guidance.

If it still points to OU Harvard guidance, you can use either Cite Them Right Harvard or OU Harvard unless an assignment says you must use OU Harvard.

Those studying a Law undergraduate module, see the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules for assistance using Cite Them Right Harvard and OSCOLA.

Cite Them Right (CTR)

Cite Them Right (CTR) is an online referencing guide, containing various referencing styles, with guidance on how to use them. It has lots of examples of how to cite different items and helpful tutorials you can watch any time.

Cite Them Right is:

user-friendly, practical and contains tutorials on referencing fundamentals and formatting

widely used and highly regarded in Higher Education

regularly updated to reflect new sources of information that can be referenced in your work

available in reference management tools like Mendeley so you can automatically generate your reference list

The Library has a Quick guide to Harvard referencing for use with Cite Them Right. This includes advice on referencing OU module materials, and which sections of Cite Them Right you might want to use when  referencing physical and online module material. There is also a YouTube Quick Guide to Cite Them Right video available.

OU Harvard

If your module is still using OU Harvard, you can choose whether to use OU Harvard or Cite Them Right Harvard, unless an assignment says that you must use OU Harvard.

The OU Harvard guide to citing references (requires login) provides practical advice and examples to help you create references in this style. You can also access a PDF version of the OU Harvard guide.

Getting help with referencing

If you can't find what you need in the Cite Them Right Harvard or OU Harvard guide, you can check your module for guidance or ask your tutor. Don't forget you can also get help from the OU Library. We have a Library Helpdesk open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We also have videos and live online tutorials about the hows and whys of referencing. For more details, see the Training and events page.

Quick Tour of Cite Them Right - Short video introducing you to Cite Them Right Harvard

Top 5 Questions Answered! - These five short videos feature OU Associate Lecturers and students in conversation. They talk about the changes to referencing and answer some big questions about Cite Them Right and referencing.

Other referencing styles used at the OU

Additional guidance is available for disabled students on referencing accessible formats.

The Bibliographic Management page will tell you about tools you can use to track and organise your references.

Want to know more about referencing and plagiarism?

Cite Them Right has a 'Basics' section, which includes information such as:

How to set out citations

The difference between reference list and in-text citing

Being Digital, is an online collection of short easy-to-follow activities. Being Digital provides resources to help you to avoid plagiarism and show you how to include in-text citations and reference lists within your written work.

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Referencing is when you acknowledge other peoples' work and allow the reader to locate the sources you have used. Plagiarism happens when a student submits an assignment that contains work that is not their own, without acknowledging their sources in the form of references.

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How to find resources for your chosen degree subject?

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How to find resources for your chosen degree subject?