Self-study material for information searches: Evaluation of information and copyright

What?

• Is the text directed at the general public, experts in the field of the scientific community? 
• Is the presented information a fact or an opinion? Written sources have to show what sources they used as background information, so that they can be verified, if needed. Study the list of references.
• Consider also if something has been left out intentionally or unintentionally (e.g. for religious or political reasons).
• Aim to get hold of the original source, if possible. The original source refers to the publication in which the information was first reported. Avoid second-hand sources! 
• A research article usually follows the following IMRD structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion. Pay attention especially to the research methods section. This will help you to differentiate a scientific article from a popularized or an expert article.

Who?

• You should always be able to verify the author. Check the authors' background: are they researchers, experts, professionals or amateurs?
• What sort of reputation does the author have within the scientific community? Have their publications been cited? Have they been mentioned in field-specific textbooks? 
• Does the author have any commercial of political affiliations?

Where?

• Who has published the text? What type of materials do they publish?
• If the publication is a book: Who published the book? Is it a self-published book? Has someone reviewed or edited the contents?
• If it's an article published in a journal: In which journal has the article been published? Is the journal peer-reviewed? What level of classification has the Publication Forum given to the publication channel?
• Scientific appearance is not a guarantee for scientificity. Watch out for predatory publishers. Their goal is to collect author publishing fees with the expense of scientificity. These journals do not provide reliable source materials, since they neglect editing and peer-review processes. Read more about predatory publishers on the Responsible Research website. If you suspect a journal to be unreliable, you can ask the library to help you evaluate it. 

When?

• Consider field specificity. It is rare to find outdated information in the field of music, contrary to nursing science or information technology.
• Aim at finding recent sources. However, the point of view of your work has great significance. If you are conducting a research on the history of the flute, an older work of reference can be just as usable as a brand new one.

The authors of a work – whether it is text, music, a picture, a sound recording or a web page – have copyright to the work. This means that others cannot publish it without the owner’s permission. According to the quotation rights, a part of a published work can be quoted.

For more information on how to quote appropriately, see Oamk’s instructions for writing and publishing a thesis.​