Secondary sources
Relevant & reliable sources
You should always ask the questions: Is this relevant? Is this reliable?
START with your course resources:
- Reading lists/ textbooks / lecture notes (check the references within these)
- You know they will be relevant and reliable
THINK before finding your own sources:
- Know what you’re looking for
- Develop keywords (use course resources to help)
Use search techniques:
- Search on reliable websites such as the library website: https://library.lincoln.ac.uk (rather than the whole web)
- Use google scholar, advanced search
Use the library!
- Easy to search on the shelves of the library for related books
- There are staff to help you
How do I know if it’s reliable?
This can be one of the hardest skills to learn, especially when searching the internet. It helps to think of four different types of sources, according to the publisher.
- Academic sources (.edu / .ac.uk / journals / academic books, some TED talks)
- Reliable media sources (BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, NY Times, TED talks)
- Corporate/professional sources (.com / .org / non- academic books)
Unreliable sources:
- ‘How to’/ advice sites (eHow, about.com)
- Question sites (wiki answers)
- Essay sites (youressay.com)
- Editable sites (e.g. Wikipedia, most blogs)
- Unreliable media sites (e.g. Buzzfeed.com)
It is best to ask this question for all non-academic sources. For example, even on The Guardian website some articles will be less reliable. Look out for bias in media sources.
Common mistakes to avoid
Peter Greasley carried out a survey in which he asked tutors what they liked and disliked about student work.
The following common mistakes made by students were related to referencing:
- Weak references (e.g. Reader’s Digest, The Sun)
- Not using original sources
- Too many internet references
- Non-existent web addresses
(Greasley, 2016, 44-45)
- Citations that don’t appear in the reference list and vice versa
- Incomplete references (e.g. missing page numbers)
- Mis-spelled names etc.
- Arguments/statements with no reference
(Greasley, 2016, 118-121)
Greasley, P. (2016) Doing essays and assignments, 2nd edition. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Referencing tips
- Don’t wait until you’ve finished the essay
- Consult the Harvard Referencing Handbook – you don’t need to remember everything
- Oversights in your referencing will mean that tutors examine it more closely
- Use online help (e.g. RefWorks, Mendeley, Word, etc.) – but check carefully
Remember…
- Every time you use someone else’s ideas, you must reference!
- Make sure your in-text citations and reference list match
- Get your referencing right – poor referencing leads to lower marks