You gather information from a source. A source could be anything from an article, a book, a website, a melody, a quote from a lecture, to a fingerprint.

Sources are usually divided into two categories:

primary sources
secondary sources

A primary source gives first-hand information on a topic. This could, for example, be a book or an article written by someone presenting their own theory or research. It can also be a lecturer presenting their own research results. A secondary source recounts what some other source has already presented. Course books, newspaper articles, and summary articles are some examples of secondary sources.

A primary source is often more reliable than a secondary source. Keep this in mind when evaluating your material. This is usually true for all types of sources, but especially those found on the internet. If you are unsure if a piece of information is true or not, you should compare with what other sources say.

Here is a video by The University of South Australia on evaluating information using the CRAAP-test (3.17 min):

You can read more about critical evaluation of sources at the library's website.

Next, we will discuss scholarly publishing and types of academic material in more detail.