3 - Select information sources
Sample question
Since 2020 the city of Amsterdam's ambition is to make sure every festival in the city is fully sustainable. A festival organiser asks you to investigate what methods exist for making his festival more sustainable.
Types of resources
Introduction
In the basic course, you learned about the various types of information resources, subdivided according to form and content.
To determine whether or not you can use an information resource when answering your question, there are other aspects you can bear in mind - level and originality.
There are different levels of journals. What exactly are the differences between these journals and when is it best to use them?
Trade journals
Trade journals are aimed at specialists in a particular field. They contain practical applications of ideas, models, and theories. Articles usually describe the most commonly occurring situations in everyday practice. You can compare them to your own case. Examples of trade journals are: Modern English Teacher and Flight International.
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Non-specialist journals
These publications are aimed at a general audience. This is why you will usually not find detailed descriptions of a research method or references to sources used. For this reason, you should not use publications of this kind as a source for your assignment. Examples of non-specialist journals include: Time, Newsweek or National Geographic.
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Scholarly journals
Scholarly magazines contain articles written by scholars, for scholars. The research method is always clearly described and the sources used are described precisely. That way, you can see how the author obtained his information. In the articles, you will often find explanations for certain phenomena in the professional field. You can then link them to your own case. Examples of scholarly journals include: The Lancet, The Journal of Machine Learning Research en The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.
Originality
You can also categorise information according to originality. A distinction is made between primary and secondary sources:
- Secondary sources use information from primary sources. They discuss a subject on the basis of various articles and publications. They often give a clear picture of what research has been carried out and published in relation to a particular subject. Possible examples include handbooks or review articles.
Databases and Google Scholar
You are of course already familiar with Google and you know that the Library offers access to various databases. But how do you find the right databases for your specific assignment?
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Summary
You have learned:
- that information sources differ in terms of level and originality
- what the difference is between trade journals and scholarly journals
- what the difference is between primary and secondary information
- how to find a suitable database for your question
- how to use Google Scholar to search the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences databases
Search Logbook
Now note down in your logbook what you have found and how.
