When you come to study your subject beyond the assigned readings, you'll need to find much of your reading yourself.

It can be hard to know what to trust when you're searching. One helpful starting point is to use the references from a source you already trust, such as a book chapter or journal article on your resource list, and make a note of interesting references of sources you want to read in full.

You can then use Discover, QMU Library's search service (a collection of books, journal articles and other resources) to access these, or use keywords to search for resources about the same topics. This way you can feel confident that this information is from a reputable source.

QMU Library has a guide on searching for resources, including how to search academic sources like databases, as well as other sources like Google Scholar, to find useful material for your assignments.

Type of source	What they're useful for	Where to find them
Books	Often about broad areas. Can communicate specific research but often summarise wider sets of research. Often good for getting a background to an area.	QMU Library's Discover tool (you can filter just for ebooks if you can't get to QMU Library for print books) QMU Library catalogue (only includes books, no journals - can be easier to search, click Modify search to filter for ebooks or print books)
Journal articles	Often about one specific aspect of a topic and can be about a theoretical concept or findings of a piece or set of pieces of research. Often good for getting information about the most recent developments.	QMU Library's Discover tool (you can filter just for ebooks if you can't get to QMU Library for print books) In academic databases that QMU Library subscribes to - to find the right ones for your subject, check the library guide for your area On Google Scholar
Grey literature	Research which is either unpublished or published through channels other than commercial publishing. Most of it is not found in bibliographic databases. Can be a useful resource for relevant government documentation and information from other organisations, usually published quickly. Can often direct you to the best up to date perspectives.	Online - see the QMU Library guide on searching for grey literature

Once you've found relevant sources, of course, you can't just trust them because you found them through the library or on a journal website. You need to use critical thinking skills to evaluate the content of the material you are reading.