Ways to Use Sources

• Background
• Evidence
• Argument
• Method

Scholarly vs. Popular Sources

Expertise and authority of an author

• What do we know about the author?
• Have they written or spoken about this topic before?
• Do they teach at college or university on this topic?
• Are they affiliated with a research institution or agency or think tank?
• What do other authors think of this one?

• synonyms and related terms
• alternate spellings of terms
• subject headings in database records
• making note of new-to-you terms found in sources you’ve already got

You'll pick these up as you

• search a little
• read a little
• search some more
• read a little more
• etc.

Search Tips

• put quotations around things normally presented as a phrase, such as "lipid biosignatures"
• put AND in between different search terms: "lipid biosignatures" AND mars
• start with a simple search (not too many words) and then if search results too broad, add one more concept/term at a time
• don't type in sentences, such as "how do astrobiologists use biosignatures to search for extra terrestial life"

Databases to Search In