The University of Otago Library has re-designed its Subject Guides system. Please let us know what you think by filling out this survey.
Article databases list and classify articles from scholarly publications, primarily peer-reviewed journals. Each database covers different publications, depending upon its subject matter and scope. Databases link through to the Library's e-journals collections to full-text articles wherever possible.
Note: First-time users must register to use SciFinder-n (CAS).
Evaluating and thinking critically about sources of information are important skills to develop and apply while undertaking research.
Not all information is reliable and appropriate for academic work, and not all information is relevant to your particular topic.
You should challenge and reflect on information that you find; don’t just accept everything you read.
Assess sources, based on:
OROKOHANGA - ‘The Origins’: The source of the information
MANA - ‘The Authority’ of the information
WHAKAPAPA - ‘The Background’ of the information
MĀRAMATANGA - ‘The Content’ and usability of the
information
ARONGA - ‘The Lens’ or objectivity of the information
Work through this tutorial to develop your skills in evaluating information that you find online:
SIFT - Evaluating Information Tutorial
Even though the library databases are good sources of information, we still need to evaluate that information before we decide to use it. You can do this by asking the following questions:
Use the acronym BADURL to help you evaluate online sources:
B ... Bias
A ... Authority
D ... Date
U ... URL
R ... Relevance
L ... Links
Work through this tutorial to develop your skills in evaluating information that you find online:
Or apply these terms to assess if the information you have found answers your research question.
Timeliness
Relevance
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose
Here are some resources to help develop your evaluating skills:
Try these options:
Review articles provide an introduction to and overview of developments in a particular field. They summarise the current state of knowledge and identify articles which have had significant impact.
Here are three journals that are excellent sources of review articles:
These tutorials are designed to provide a basic introduction to searching the databases.