Where to Search for Sources

Using the Library for Scholarly Sources

The Heartland Library (or any college library) will likely be your best resource when searching for Scholarly Sources (Peer-Reviewed sources from Academic Journals).

Advantages: In general, Heartland Library offers you access to academic sources that won’t be publicly available on the open internet.

Disadvantages: Heartland Library will offer fewer sources than Google.  You might not be able to find sources on very specific topics, particularly topics that are very recent or that receive little attention among academic writers.

See My Quick Guide to Using Heartland Library

Alternatives to the Library:

(More Details Coming Soon)

• Google: Offers the widest variety of sources, but can also flood your results with irrelevant articles.  Most search results will not be scholarly sources.

• Google Scholar: May provide links to scholarly sources that aren’t directly available through Heartland, but you might not be able to access the articles.  In this case, check with a Heartland Librarian about getting access.

• Wikipedia: Excellent overviews of topics and useful lists of outside sources, but do not cite Wikipedia in your paper.  It’s an encyclopedia — you need to go directly to sources about your topic.

• YouTube: Great source for primary-source interviews and secondary-source documentaries.  Not a source for peer-reviewed articles.

• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms offer a great source for primary-source quotes, and they may also provide links to secondary or even scholarly sources.  However, searching them may be difficult.