Finding Sources
Getting there
Some sources are repetitive
See below on finding more in-depth sources.
More than enough but some may not be useful
See below on finding more in-depth sources.
Have enough but keep finding ones that look better.
Great! Keep the best and save the others in case you decide later they are useful after all.
Have enough but more wouldn’t hurt
See below on finding more in-depth sources.
Finding more besides my 10 but starting to dry up
See below on finding more in-depth sources if those ten are not enough.
Don’t enough quite yet but have a great head start.
See below on finding more in-depth sources.
Finding more quality sources because of this work
Don’t have enough because some too technical.
May require changing research question. Try other databases. (e.g. ProQuest instead of ASP or
JSTOR.) Also see below on finding more in-depth sources.
Need more; having trouble finding scholarly sources or just in-depth sources with good info.
Try different search terms. Go back to your search strategy worksheet and pick some different
synonyms. Use the other techniques (searching with sources, subject heading searches, search
for an author who’s written a good article, etc.)
Try different databases (for example, if you’ve been using ProQuest switch to ASP or JSTOR; try
KCLS databases; consider going to UW library for an afternoon).
Talk to a librarian. Talk to me outside of class.
Consider expanding your research question (review the UW tutorial on broadening your topic)
Good sources; need to go to the library for some print sources.
Use the library catalog to find books on your subject. Some books are collections of essays by
different authors; you can just pick and choose the most useful. Even the ones by a single author
are broken up into chapters; again, you can pick the useful ones. You don’t have to read the
whole book to make use of the source. (See the handout on skimming sources.)
Hard to find information directly from the businesses that are my topic even after using search tips.
Getting a bit closer after today.
May not be possible to get sources from the businesses, but it should be possible to get reliable
information about them. Newsmagazines, university programs and scholarly journals are all
good sources to look at. This may require further discussion with me to clarify what you’re trying
to find and what the obstacles are.
Evaluating Sources
Yes, struggling, working at it. Trial & error. Getting a little easier with practice.
Confused. What to look for besides “scholarly.”
First look for in-depth sources. Certain magazines often have longer articles on a subject than
you’ll find in a newspaper—for example, Harpers, Scientific American, the New Yorker, Mother
Jones, the Nation, the New Republic, Salon.com and others. Second, look for articles that are
going beyond reporting the basic facts—instead, they are analyzing, interpreting, explaining.
These are the articles that are trying to answer the “why” and “how” more than the “who, what
where and when.” Third, use the questions from “Critically Analyzing Information Sources” to
get a sense for how reliable the source is. Fourth, once you start reading in depth, use our
standards from the Critique paper to evaluate the evidence and reasoning: is the evidence
sufficient or are they leaving something out? Is it relevant to the point they are making? Is it
representative of the object of study? Are the assumptions valid?
Not strong on identifying “scholarly.”
Practice makes perfect! Keep using the Scholarly Source Checklist, and remember this basic
idea: A scholarly source is a scholar talking to other scholars. It’s like listening in to a
conversation where you’re not familiar with a lot of the key terms, ideas and facts. There are a
lot of gray areas, so if there’s one you’re not sure about, after you use the checklist, ask me. I
can usually tell by looking at the publication information.
Hard to process information
Time and practice. Be patient, give yourself time to absorb and process, and read actively. This
means a lot of things. For example:
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Ask questions: “What did she mean by _____?” “Why does he think ______?” “What’s
the connection between this and what I read in that other article?” “Why is this point
important?”
Summarize and re-phrase what you’ve read. This helps with understanding and
remembering.
Make predictions: “If she’s arguing for X, it must mean she disagrees with Y.” “I bet he’s
going to bring up_____.” “They probably won’t get into talking about _____________.”
Look at organization: What are main points, what order are they presented in, what is
considered less important? Why?
What methods did they use to gather information?
Barely any yet
Need time
Some sources seem like they’re a little biased.
They may well be. Remember that “biased” is a tricky term. Everyone has a point of view, a
particular place they’re coming from. In that sense, everyone is biased. But sometimes when we
say “biased” we mean that they are unfairly giving one side the advantage, or distorting their
data to favor their position. This can happen consciously (which is dishonest and severely
condemned in academic writing) or unconsciously, which is much harder to spot, especially in
oneself.
Both definitions of “biased” have their uses. The danger is in confusing the two of them. Just
because someone has a point of view or an opinion, it does not mean that they are unfairly
misrepresenting or distorting the facts. Many opinonated people can be quite fair-minded, and
many fair-minded people can be quite opinionated. So don’t assume someone is “biased” (in the
sense of distorting the facts) because they have an opinion. Instead, look at the quality of their
evidence, especially the question of whether it is representative.
Sources that are “biased” in the first sense (having a point of view) are fine—in fact, that’s the
only kind of source there is, even if you can’t always spot their point of view. It’s better if you
can see what it is, so you can keep in mind that they might unconsciously give their side the
edge in the argument, and try to balance their information with information from another side.
(Don’t forget that that side will be “biased” too.) Sources that are “biased” in the second sense
(unfairly misrepresenting or distorting the facts) should be avoided. Usually they’re basing their
opinions on more factual, less “biased” sources. Try to find those.
Some sources are written by a person, or published by a group, with a commitment to a
particular point of view. For example, the Cato Institute, which some of you are using for
sources, is committed to libertarian principles of radical free market economics and individual
liberty. Their information is often quite good, but it is always selected on the basis of whether it
agrees with their ideological preferences. This means that it is at risk for bias, whether conscious
or unconscious. The reason that many scholars try to avoid ideological commitments like this is
precisely to avoid the danger that they will, without meaning to, distort their findings or analysis
to conform to the ideology: twisting the facts to fit the theory, as it’s called. Other scholars
argue that we all have ideologies whether we know it or not, and it’s better to admit it up front
than pretend to yourself that you don’t. At least that way you’ll be on your guard.
As I’m going through sources with the Critically Analyzing Info Sources, I’m realizing my sources are not
very strong.
This is probably a good thing—better to find out now than later! You still have time to find
more. But just to be sure, why don’t you send me a couple that you’ve decided are not so strong
and explain why you came to that conclusion. It’s possible that you’re over-emphasizing
something that isn’t so important or misunderstanding part of it. I’ll double check and see if I
agree with you. Also this helps me know if these methods are working successfully for students.
Questions
Do I need to think about an outline of the paper to find the right sources?
You don’t have to yet (you will in a couple weeks) but it does help. Sometimes people write an
outline and then fill in with sources, treating each section of the outline as its own research
topic with its own question and thesis. Others do the research and then organize what they
have into an outline. So to some extent it depends on your individual approach. But even people
who do it the second way often find they have to go back and fill in gaps after they’ve written
the outline. So if you’re at the point where it seems like it might be helpful, it’s probably a good
idea.
Must books be scholarly? I feel like they are good quality.
Books do not have to be scholarly, but they are a good source for scholarly sources for certain
topics, and for non-s cholarly but in-depth sources. Check our library’s catalog for ideas.
Need help finding print sources. Can I show you the ones I have in class?
Absolutely