Turn a broad topic into a searchable question
“Technology and education” is too broad to guide a useful literature search. A more specific question identifies a population, context, issue or comparison. Break it into keywords, synonyms and related terms. Your library catalogue, academic databases and subject librarians can help you identify appropriate sources.
Assess authority in context
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) explains that authority is both constructed and contextual. A government dataset, peer-reviewed paper, professional practice guide and firsthand account can all be appropriate for different questions; none should be accepted simply because it looks professional.
- Identify who created the source and what expertise, methods or experience they bring.
- Check when it was published or updated and whether the date matters to your topic.
- Look for methods, citations or verifiable underlying evidence.
- Ask whether the claims apply to your country, subject, learner group or time period.
- Compare an important claim with an independent, relevant source before relying on it.
Keep a transparent research trail
Save stable links or identifiers, the full citation details, a short note on what a source supports and a note on limitations. Paraphrase in your own words with attribution. If an image, table or other asset is not yours, check licence and permission requirements before reuse.
Use generative AI critically
AI-generated summaries can be useful for generating search terms or questions, but they are not substitutes for locating and reading the underlying evidence. Check every claimed quotation, study, statistic and link against a real source; references can be inaccurate or fabricated. Follow your institution’s policies on AI-assisted work and disclosure.
Your next step
Choose one claim from a current assignment and complete a five-question source check: author, evidence, relevance, date and corroboration. The Campus research and digital literacy courses can provide a further starting point.
Worked example: two conflicting sources
Imagine a student researching a public-health initiative and finding an unsigned infographic and a university-hosted research report. Before choosing which to use, they check authorship, publication date, methods, scope, references and whether each source answers the assignment question.
The infographic may be useful for discovering a claim, but its attractive design does not establish accuracy. The research report might provide stronger evidence for a particular population while still having limitations. The student follows cited sources to the underlying work and notes where findings cannot be generalised.
If an AI tool suggests a statistic or reference, the student checks the original publication, context and date. They keep an audit trail of sources and follow university citation and AI-use policies. Responsible research is about traceable evidence, not a blanket rule that one website category is always reliable.
Practical next-step checklist
- Identify the original author and publication.
- Trace important claims to primary evidence.
- Follow your institution’s citation and responsible AI guidance.
