Research guides: SOCA03: Introduction to Sociology: Search Toolkit

Where Should I Look for Sources?

You can look for sources on the UTSC Library's website: http://library.utsc.utoronto.ca

	Google	Google Scholar	LibrarySearch ( discovery catalogue)	Subject-Specific Databases
Search results	Blogs and discussion forums on your topic Company & organization websites News Government Info	Theses Journal articles E-books	Journal articles Books Videos & DVDs	Journal articles Reports Book chapters
Quality of search results	Variable: No review for most information published on the web	Good	High	High
Results are good for...	Quick answers to specific, factual questions An overview of a topic to start your search	Getting a specific article Starting your academic research	Searching across resources	Finding peer-reviewed materials in your discipline Comprehensive searches
Be careful of...	Commercial information Poor quality information	Peer-review: Not all articles in Google Scholar are from peer-reviewed journals Multidisciplinary results: Select sources from your discipline Limited coverage & scope: Google Scholar is not comprehensive. Be prepared to continue your search in the library if you need to conduct a more thorough search	Being overwhelmed by volume of results. Multidisciplinary results: Select sources from your discipline	Limiting yourself: Try multiple databases for a comprehensive search Unfamiliar search screen: If you have questions, ask a librarian for help