This document provides guidance on finding and evaluating scholarly resources. It discusses searching scholarly databases, open access repositories, and websites. Google Scholar, university repositories, libraries, and research databases are recommended for locating scholarly sources. Criteria for evaluating sources include authority, bias, content, date, and seeking multiple perspectives. Databases are preferred over websites as their sources are checked by experts and include necessary citation information. The document encourages students to search databases like JSTOR, EBSCO, and open access platforms like Academia.edu to find peer-reviewed academic articles and papers.

1. Where to Find Scholarly Resources?
Zakir Hossain
Secondary Teacher-Librarian
13.02.2020

2. Scholarly Sources
• Google scholar
• University repositories/ICS EE Repository @Library Catalogue
• Organizational repositories
• Government repositories
• Libraries
Databases
➢Subscribed
➢Open Access

3. Justify a SCHOLARLY Resource
Formula A B C D E
Meaning Authority/
Author
Bias Content Date Evaluation
Questions
to ask
-Who wrote this?
-What organization
sponsored this?
-What do you know
about them?
-What can you find out
about them?
-Can you contact them?
-What is the purpose of
this site?
-Does bias make sense in
relation to your
argument?
-Is the bias obvious?
-How can you tell?
-Can you use it anyway,
and find something with
a counter bias?
-Is the tone (academic,
casual, etc.)
appropriate for your
project?
-Does this content
appear elsewhere?
-Does it match with
what you already
know?
-Does it link to other
sources and vice-
versa?
-Is the information
up to date?
-Does the
publication date
make sense in
relation to the
information
presented?
-For this topic,
does it matter?
-What do you think?
-Should you use
this site?
-Why/ why not?
-Do you need any
additional
resource/informatio
n to get a balanced
picture?
Further
Strategies
Cross check on
Wikipedia or Snopes.
Do a Google search of
the name/
organization /key people
listed
Look at the “about” tab
Read at least 3 related
source and cross check
to understand the
facts/truth..
Try Google link option
and see how many
pages linked to this
page. E.g.
link:www.theresearcht
l.net
Find out the date
on the top/bottom
of the page/article
Compare/contrast at
least 3 similar
resource/topics.
(Hossain & Hoiseth, 2018)

4. Why use the research databases?
Research database Website
Author: Professionals and experts in the field. Author: Can be written by anyone, regardless of their
expertise or knowledge.
Information: Content comes from published works where the
facts are checked.
Information: Content is not always checked by an expert.
Referencing: Sources are easy to cite and all information
can be located (i.e. date of publication, consulted works,
author credibility).
Referencing: Websites do not always include necessary
information for citation.
Bibliography: Consulted sources and a bibliography are
included at the end of the article.
Bibliography: Not all websites include links to their sources
of information or a bibliography.
Organization: The database can help you to narrow your
topic and provide links to similar subjects.
Organization: The website may not be organized. The
search engine may not lead you to the best quality
information.
Currency: Research databases are updated frequently and
enable you to list them by date of publication.
Currency: Websites many not indicate when the information
was updated.

5. ICS EE Repository @Library Catalogue

6. ICS EE Repository @Library Catalogue

7. Search ICS EE Repository and find
your subject related EE that
achieved Grade A
Download it…
Do It Yourself (DIY)

8. Using databases to find
academic sources

10. JSTOR
Access to more than 12 million academic journal articles,
books, and primary sources…
● Humanities
● Social Sciences
● Sciences

11. Create an EE folder on JSTOR
Search Articles…
Save at least two articles in your
EE folder…
Optional…
Create a reference list from the
articles you’ve saved in your EE
folder…
DIY

12. EBSCO
General databases for High School
Academic databases:
● Science Reference Centre
● Literary Reference Centre
Login from school, set up
Google sign-on (SSO)

13. Article
The Games People Play: ……
Literacies in the Hunger Games
Trilogy
Author: Two authors
*one author last name is Hollister
Find out this article using the library
databases. Try at least three of
these (Jstor/ProQuest/EBSCO)
https://icsz.libguides.com/icszlibrary
/dp
• Is it an scholarly Article?
– Why?
– Why Not?
• Create an MLA citation for this
article right from the database or
using Google Docs Citations
DIY

14. Zurich Central Library
You have to be in the ZBZ

15. “Open access refers to the practice of making
peer-reviewed scholarly research and literature
freely available online to anyone
interested in reading it. “
Text from: https://opensource.com/resources/what-open-access

16. Broadly search for scholarly literature: articles, theses, books,
abstracts, from academic publishers, professional societies,
online repositories, universities and open access databases.
● Only scholarly works
● May have full text access
● Easy search terms

17. Google Scholar Search

18. DIY
• Find the below article from Google Scholar
……. lifelong learning society
through reading promotion: ……
libraries and community learning
centres in Viet Nam
Author: Single author [*last name is
Hossain]
• Is it a scholarly article?
– Why?
– Why not?
• Create an MLA citation for this article right
from google scholar…

19. Academia.edu is a platform for academics to
share research papers.
Over 72 million academics have signed up to
Academia.edu, adding 21 million papers.
Academia.edu attracts over 39 million unique
visitors a month.
https://www.academia.edu
ResearchGate is a social networking site for
scientists and researchers to share papers,
ask and answer questions, and find
collaborators.
118+ million publication pages, 15+ million
researchers
https://www.researchgate.net
Benefit: A good number of scholarly articles can be
downloaded for free!
Challenge: Need to sign-up first/create an account

20. DIY
• Find the below article from Google Scholar/ResearchGate or
Academia
Copyright Literacy of Library and Information Science Professionals in Bangladesh
• Is it freely accessible/downloadable?

21. ICS Open
Access
Libguide
https://icsz.libguides.co
m/icszlibrary/dp

22. Questions?
zhossain@icsz.ch