Welcome to Research Basics for the College and Career Success! This guide will give you a quick introduction to finding, evaluating and ethically using information.
Research Tips
Types of Sources
There are many types of sources, but two very popular types when doing a research project are scholarly and popular. Both have specific elements and styles which distinguish each other. It's important to know what type of source you are using because they have different roles in a research assignment.
Evaluating Sources
When researching, it is important to evaluate the credibility of sources, to ensure they are high quality and trustworthy. This page will show you a quick video about checking for credibility and a quick recap of the what, why, how of credibility.
SCAAN Test
The SCAAN test is a tool for evaluating sources to determine if the source is right for your assignment. Each letter stands for a specific attribute and contains questions you can ask when evaluating a source.
Citing Your Sources
Citing your sources when writing research assignments is imperative to ensure you acknowledge the original author and avoid plagiarism. There are different types of citations, but most require an in-text citation and a list of the full citations at the end. Citation guides are linked to show specific styles.