Things to Consider When Selecting Resources

The resources you use for your assignments will depend on the information you need to find out. If you want to find out about public opinion on a particular topic, you might use non-academic resources such as newspapers or social media.

If you need to access academic information, it can be tempting to use Google or Wikipedia. However, it’s important to remember that:

• Library Search and your subject page will provide you with higher quality information and resources, selected by your tutors and librarians. 
• If you search for information on Google, you may have to scroll through pages of results that aren’t relevant.
• Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and sometimes information on there can be removed or re-written with malicious intent.
• You may come across articles and other resources that are behind pay-walls.

When you use an academic resource such as a book or article, it’s easy to see:

• Who wrote it?
• Who published it?
• When it was written?

It’s easy to see all the key information. This key information will enable you to evaluate and reference the resource.

You can learn more about evaluating information by working through the short, interactive module below.