Librarian Visits: Quest 1130

When evaluating resources, material falls into one of three categories. Purdue University explains:

Primary sources contain firsthand accounts or original data. Some examples include diaries, photographs, original research, drawings, posters, films, interviews, songs, eyewitness accounts.

Secondary sources are based on primary sources, often written by authorities on the subject.

Tertiary sources are works based entirely on secondary sources. They may include bibliographies or encyclopedia articles.

Purdue University explains the difference between Scholarly vs. Popular Sources  and both these materials are most often used in research reports.

Popular Sources

Popular sources contain bias opinions, and you can find some in the following databases. A good rule to check if your listening or reading bias information is to check in on how it makes you feel. If absorbing the information causes you to feel a certain way, the information is bias. 

Many popular sources often reference interviews or conferences. You can check out the interview or conference by reading the transcript found in Nexis Uni. 

Scholarly Sources

These databases are introduced in Library Module Three. You can collect scholarly material from them. Because scholarly material may be overwhelming to read at first, here is a film that will help you develop an approach.