A few good sources

You need a funnel

So you have to find sources for an essay, but you have no experience beyond using Google for trivia and taxes.

Before the Internet, electronic databases, and eBooks, your issue was finding enough good sources. You could spend a lot of time and money photocopying.

Now, of course, you can search online for almost anything and find thousands of sources, from physical books to endless journal articles and e-books. We need a database of databases!

The modern problem is sifting a few thousand sources down to a handful of the best sources, and for this you need to eliminate most resources. You need a funnel: Thousands of sources in, and only the best few into your essay.

The modern problem is sifting a few thousand sources down to a handful of the best sources, and for this you need to eliminate most resources. You need a funnel: Thousands of sources in, and only the best few into your essay.

But if you are not an expert, how do you find the hottest and best info? How do you sift the wheat from the chaff?

Let me introduce you to two good friends, Relevance and Reliability. Get to know them very well. They will help you funnel and sift your resources, write better essays and exegetical papers, and do better research.

Relevance

Relevance seems obvious, but it is a learned skill. Students don’t always get this at first. Your basic question is, Will this source help me answer my question better?

There are three common errors we can make when searching for relevant sources, and they are like fishing on Lake Galilee 2000 years ago:

• First, we can stop searching too soon. Great fishermen cast their nets repeatedly and for hours to get their haul of fish.

• Second, we may confuse the topic with the question.

• Third, we may not effectively pick the ‘keepers’ from all the sources we haul in.

1. Stopping searching too soon

Finding great sources takes time. I know no shortcuts. If you think you have found several great sources quickly, then you probably are working too quickly and accepting poor sources. A few tips:

• Expect that finding your sources will take a significant chunk of your research time. Start early, so you have time to find the best. You don’t want to have to settle for ordinary sources.

• Don’t stop too early. Keep searching, because better sources are lurking in the deep, waiting for you to find them.

• Plan to dismiss most sources as not good enough.

• Learn to use the Library databases. They are powerful, but I am often assured that very few students use them effectively.

Request a database training session from the Library. Yes, they are intuitive, but there are hidden tips and tricks that are worth learning.

Learn by playing around with them (you won’t break them). In the end, they all work in a similar fashion.

Learn to use them well, and you will have a very powerful tool on your hands.

Remember: Searching the databases well leads to better sources. And better sources lead to better and quicker essays.

2. Confusing the topic and the question

This is an easy mistake to make. When I was in first year, I had to write an essay comparing Jeremiah and Ezekiel. I thought that many sources made for a great essay, so I checked out everything I could find on them. There was a lot of rubbish in there, with only a few great resources in my large pile of books. A few great sources is always better than a few great sources plus a stack of rubbish.

I set about learning everything there was to know about both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and their mere 100 chapters. In the end, I wasted a lot of time, for little reward, using these blunt tools on the general topic, but not on the specific points of comparison. I researched the topic, not the question. In the end, I came up with a decent essay, but probably spent twice the hours I should have.

I should have looked for sources comparing those two books (few exist). Or deciding points of comparison (theology, message, themes, audience, style, etc) and chasing up those.

An encouragement: You may get frustrated with poor search results. Don’t give up and settle for poor sources on the topic. Persist, and know that you are developing your skills. Ask for help. And expect to improve. And you will get the better sources you need.

3. Not effectively selecting our ‘keepers’

How do you know if sources are relevant without reading them? Well, you have to sort your material a few times.

For your initial rough sort, look in your database or the Library catalogue, and read the abstract or summary. That will give you the article in a nutshell. If it looks like it will seriously help you, then put it aside as a possible source.

For the next sort, read the introduction and conclusion, and (if it still looks good) to skim the subtitles or major sections. Or if you have a book, read the front inside of the dust jacket (promo for the book) and the back inside of the dust jacket (normally about the author). Book reviews in scholarly journals help you understand the book and its place in its field. Look at the table of contents and index, or skim the introduction quickly. Quickly because you’re still deciding whether to ‘Toss aside’ or ‘Maybe keep.’

Most sources you find need to be tossed. You are fossicking for the gems – the great and key articles, chapters, and books. If gemstones were easy to find, they wouldn’t be valuable.

And remember, most sources you find need to be tossed. You are fossicking for the gems – the great and key articles, chapters, and books. If gemstones were easy to find, they wouldn’t be valuable.

So you have used the databases and the catalogue, found specific sources for your question, and tossed aside 90% or more of the stuff you’ve looked at. You now have your starting collection of relevant articles, books, and chapters.

But are they reliable? Do you want to entrust your grade to these sources? Stay tuned for the next instalment of the ASC Study Posts, when we will cover the reliability of academic sources.