Reference Books Provide general overviews of topics, to help quickly identify central issues, important figures, and key dates or events. Check our Reference Sources, search our Discovery Service to find a Research Starter, or look for a reference book in our Library Catalogue.

Books & eBooks Contain in-depth perspectives, and are likely to provide a thorough, detailed and historical overview of a subject. The Library’s Discovery Service offers immediate, full-text access to almost 200,000 e-books, and records for almost 70,000 print books in our General Collection.

Scholarly Articles Also described as “peer-reviewed” articles, these articles are published inside academic journals. They tend to provide high-level analyses or reports of in-depth research on specific topics of academic or scientific study. They are written by scholars, scientists, researchers and other subject specialists to inform their peers about crucial developments in their respective fields of inquiry. You can search for scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles in one of our Article Databases or use our Discovery Service to search through several of our databases at one time.

Magazine & Newspaper Articles The articles that appear in mainstream magazines and newspapers are typically written by reporters or columnists, and are meant to inform and entertain the general public. Search for articles in one of our Article Databases or use our Discovery Service. For newspaper articles, search our Subscriptions or browse our links to Newspaper Websites.

Websites & Blogs These web-based sources can provide a wealth of reliable information, but, if you hope to use them to support arguments in your own research, then you must be critical and evaluate them for Credibility, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (CRAAP). When looking for credible sources online, you might consider browsing our collection of Websites by Subject.

When you have a research paper to write, you will usually be required to gather a particular number, and type, of sources.

Sometimes, depending on the topic or assignment, your teacher will ask you to include popular sources, such as an article from a magazine or newspaper, or a page from a website. More often, however, you will be asked to find scholarly sources on your topic.

When conducting a piece of serious research, scholarly sources are preferable because they are written by experts, include references you can consult, and have been carefully edited and evaluated by other experts.

Whatever sources you choose, it is important that you carefully evaluate the information you find.

A Quick Comparison

Some assignments are very specific in requesting you to find primary, as distinct from secondary, sources. Check the comparison table below to learn the difference.

Is the information you’re finding CRAAP? Is it Current, Relevant, Authoritative, Accurate, and have a clear Purpose?

Visit our Evaluating Information page to see what types of questions you should be asking as you choose your sources for your research projects.