This document provides guidance on finding scholarly resources and evaluating website authenticity. It discusses searching scholarly databases and Google Scholar to find peer-reviewed journal articles and emphasizes evaluating sources based on their authority, purpose, content, date and bias. The document also contrasts popular and scholarly resources, noting key differences such as author expertise, peer review processes, and citation of sources. Users are encouraged to search library databases and use the WHOIS tool to verify the ownership and authenticity of websites.

1. How to Find Scholarly
Resources?
&
Justify?
October 2, 2018
Zakir Hossain
Secondary Teacher-Librarian
https://www.theresearchtl.net/
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

2. FACT
(MILL for Business)

3. Finding information: Where to search?
Magazines
Books
Journals
Videos Websites
Podcasts
Newspapers
Blogs

4. Scholarly Sources
• Google scholar
• University repositories
• Organizational repositories
• Government repositories
• Libraries
• Databases
➢Subscribed
➢Open Access

5. RESEARCHGoing beyond Google ...

6. (site search)
(link search)
Google Advanced Search!
(similar search)
(file-type search)
phrase search/ “”
(Boolean
Search)

8. Google Advanced Search
● site: allows you to narrow your search by a site or by a top
level domain e.g. site:edu
● Similar: To find similar information, website or documents.
● File type: searches the suffixes or filename extensions
"leading economic indicators" file type:ppt
● Phrase search/ Exact search: To search an exact term e.g.
"religion and politics in Saudi Arabia"

9. Try it Yourself
• Site Search: (.edu)
digital literacy skills of students (all sites should be screeched from
educational websites)
• File search: (.pdf)
digital literacy skills of high school students (all hits should be pdf)
• Phrase search: (“”)
digital literacy skills of students (number of hits?)
• Similar search

10. Google Image Search
Do a google Image Search at
https://images.google.com/
Where is this picture taken from
(website address)?

11. Justify a SCHOLARLY Resource@OPVL

12. 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/informati
on 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.theresearch
tl.net
Find out the date
on the top/bottom
of the page/article
Compare/contrast
at least 3 similar
resource/topics.
Hoiseth, L. & Hossain, Z. (2018)

13. 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.

14. Popular VS Scholarly resources
Such as Time or Reader’s Digest Journal of Int’l Education
Articles Often NOT signed by author. ALWAYS signed by the
author(s).
Audience General public. Targeted audience of
scholars or professionals.
Authors Authors are generalists, staff
writers, or freelance writers.
Authors are experts in their
fields--scholars and professionals,
often university professors.
Citations Sources of information NOT
fully cited, NO bibliography
Sources are always fully cited,
bibliography available
Format Informal, conversational style
to appeal to general readers.
The standard format of the
field is followed: APA, MLA,
Chicago etc.
Review Policy Articles selected by an editor. "Peer reviewed:" articles
selected by a panel of
experts.
Publisher To inform or entertain. To keep scholars and
professionals abreast of new

15. Try it Yourself
Use OPVL and ABCDE method for the following Articles and justify whether
they are scholarly articles or not!
1. https://www.atiner.gr/presentations/LIB2016-0047.pdf
2. https://www.thehindu.com/society/bend-it-like-burrett/article19523668.ece
A B C D E
O P V L

16. Google Scholar Search

17. Google Scholar Search

18. Try it Yourself
• Find the below article from
Google Scholar
Towards a lifelong learning society
through reading promotion:
Opportunities and challenges for
libraries and community learning
centres in Viet Nam
• Is it a scholarly article?
– Why?
– Why not?
• Use OPVL Method to justify your
statement.
• Create an MLA citation for this
article right from Google
scholar…

19. Database Search!
Go to ICS library databases
https://icsz.libguides.com/icszlibrary/dp

20. Article
A Minecraft-Based Response to
'New Literacies' in the Middle
Years
Find out this article using the library
databases. Try at least three of
these (Jstor/Questia/Explora)
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
Try it Yourself

21. How to find the authenticity of websites?
▪ Use a query containing WHOIS to identify the owner
of a particular website.
Example: https://www.whois.com/whois/
and enter [theresearchtl.net].

22. Survey
https://goo.gl/forms/1d8QkCmgcPmPX8Aq2
It will take about 5 min. Thank you.

23. Questions? Comments?
zhossain@icsz.ch
https://icsz.libguides.com/icszlibrary/home

24. MILL for Business. “How Many Websites Are There Around the World?” How Many Websites Are There Around
the World?, MILL for Business, 2 Feb. 2019, https://www.millforbusiness.com/how-many-websites-are-there/.
Works Cited