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Research in: Critical Race and Ethnic Studies

A guide to research for classes in the CRES department

What is a Reference Source?

What is an Academic Reference Resource?

A Reference Source is usually a physical or digital document that you would refer to for more information about a topicWhen doing academic research, it is sometimes much better to consult a reference resource than to type your question into google. Reference resources are usually curated around specific topics, making them more credible and informative than the advertisement suggestion that will pop up at the top of your google search!

Examples of Reference resources:

  • Dictionaries 
  • Thesauruses
  • Encyclopedias
  • Almanacs
  • Indexes
  • Concordances
  • Atlases

Reference Resources for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies

Biographical Reference Sources

Popular Resources as References

Popular Resources as Reference Sources

When conducting research in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, we may need to consult reference sources that lay outside of academia. An oxford reference source may not tell you more about current events or social justice movements as they develop. When this is the case, you absolutely can use a popular resource to learn more information about a topic. However, it is important to critically evaluate your source to see if the information in it is reliable and accurate to the topic. When analyzing a popular resource it is important to consider:

  • Who is writing the piece? Who is publishing it? 
  • What is their motivation for writing on this topic? What authority do they have to write on the subject?
  • Where is it taking place? Where is it being published? How might that effect the content of the piece?
  • When was this article published? When did the events taking place in the article take place?
  • Can you corroborate their views or reporting with other sources? Do they cite any other works within their own?

For more guidance on investigating popular sources, please visit the Scholarly vs. Popular page of this guide.

Some Popular Reference Sources