Is it Peer-Reviewed?
Use Ulrichsweb to find out whether a journal is peer-reviewed.
Look for this symbol 
after conducting a search by the journal title, this symbol indicates that the journal is peer-reviewed.
Confused by what ‘peer reviewed’ means? This video will tell you and explain how it works. (2:11)
Evaluating Sources
When evaluating sources consider:
1. Suitability- Is there relevant information?
2. Objectivity- Can you detect the bias?
3. Accuracy and Credibility- Corroborate with other sources and check references.
4. Currency- What is the date of publication?
5. Authority- Who is the author and publisher?
The National Library of Jamaica (2010). Evaluating Primary and Secondary Sources: An Online Tutorial.
Available from: https://www.nlj.gov.jm/rai/CSEC/Evaluating%20Primary
%20and%20Secondary%20Sources.pdf.
How to Evaluate Resources
Not sure if a source is valid? This video explains how you can tell -- by using the CRAAP test. (2:10)
Critical Reading Strategies
1. Preview: See what you can learn about a text before reading it.
2. Contextualize: Situate a text in its historical, biographical and cultural contexts.
3. Question: Ask questions about the text in order to understand it.
4. Reflect: Consider whether this text challenged any of your preexisting beliefs.
5. Summarize: Outline and identify main ideas in your own words.
6. Evaluate: Assess the credibility and logic of the text.
7. Compare:Consider similarities and differences between this text and others.
(adapted from: http://www.salisbury.edu/counseling/new/7_critical_reading_strategies.html)
Scholarly Versus Popular
Grey Literature
Grey Literature is
“…information produced on all levels of government, academia, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body.”
Schnopfel J. (2010, December).Towards a Prague definition of grey literature. Paper presented at: Twelfth International Conference on Grey Literature: Transparency in Grey Literature. Grey Tech Approaches to High Tech Issues, Prague, Czech Republic Available from: http://archivesic.ccsd.cnrs.fr/sic_00581570/document.
It can be used to supplement books and journals when conducting research as it provides a different perspective and is commonly more current than different materials.
Examples of Grey Literature include:
- conference papers and proceedings
- government documents
- reports
- policy documents
and many more which you can find here.