Remember that nothing can hurt more than finally finding that piece of info you spent hours, or even days, searching for, only to discover, after thinking you've done the job, that you can't actually use it.
Knowing how to actually “research” and find resources, ones which you will use throughout your whole journey, is essential. It is even more profound that as a human in general, you actually need it. Besides the importance of knowing how to research, failing to know this would probably get you fired from any institution you are either working at or affiliated with. (ARPL is not an exception, undoubtedly. For more info on this and other important aspects, check our integrity policy.) Throughout this module, you will learn about trusted or academic resources, their importance, and how to find them.
“Trusted” resources, also referred to as scholarly, academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed sources, are reliable sources written by experts in the field with systems that ensure the quality and accuracy of information presented. These resources usually undergo rigorous evaluation and scrutiny, where they are published in journals, books, or academic platforms.
It's more than essential you understand the different types of resources, and thus to always ensure you are using scholarly, or trusted, resources while utterly and entirely avoiding other resources: non-scholarly, i.e., those that you can't trust or use or believe info from.
The main disparity between scholarly and non-scholarly works is the level of credibility; this is mainly determined by the process by which they are produced. Some types of resources, such as popular magazines, websites, or blogs, usually do not go through the same level of scrutiny as academic journals. These resources may hence involve extreme levels of bias, inaccuracies, or unsubstantiated claims, which makes them not credible or reliable anymore. This means you, or essentially anyone, can't use them.
While the previous categorization of resources, i.e., scholarly vs non-scholarly sources, is the most popular and you would probably see the most, there is another type of categorization according to the University of California San Diego (UCSD). According to them, resources are categorized into three groups: highly appropriate, potentially appropriate, and usually inappropriate.
By definition, peer-reviewed articles are papers that have been accepted for publication involving a rigorous review process. The definition is quite similar to scholarly papers, that's why peer-reviewed and scholarly are both used with the same terms. On the contrary, the opposite to appropriate sources: inappropriate resources, those that you can't use, are referred to as "non-peer-reviewed sources," "non-academic sources," "non-scholarly sources," or "popular sources." It's important to note that just because a paper is published in a journal, it is not flawless. Different journals, and even different papers in the same journals, have different credibility levels. (More on this follows.) What you need to always ensure is that you always critically read and evaluate all the sources you use.
The second type of resources you may come across can be referred to as "potentially appropriate sources." This type includes sources like books, encyclopedias, and other scholarly works. You can rely on those sources, yet when doing so, it is very crucial that you definitely need to carefully evaluate their accuracy and trustworthiness. In fact, those sources usually vary so much in quality. One example is books; some have indeed been reviewed, while others have not been through a rigorous review process and may be subject to some biases.
The last type of sources are the "usually inappropriate." In your search, you may often come across a plethora of different articles in magazines, blogs, and/or forums. UCSD describes this by saying, "In general, although these sources may be well-written and easy to understand, their scientific value is often not as high as that of peer-reviewed articles." While we would have more information on this in modules on publications/journals and conference presentations, e.g., types of journals, here is how to check whether or not a journal is credible.
The process of accurately distinguishing between a reputable journal/publisher and a low quality one is not always straightforward. This is notably true given that it is hard to have a single fully accepted reliable or comprehensive source of information that is utterly used at the moment.
Previously, there was a source called Beall's list of predatory journals, yet it is discontinued: no longer maintained. Because of this, a number of series of checks and steps can be taken to assess the quality and standards of a potential journal.
One handy source is called the Think Check Submit campaign. This campaign was developed by publishers and information professional bodies to help authors identify trusted publishing sources. However, because this is more discussed in "Publications and Conference Presentations," you can directly go and refer to there.