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Guide for new students

Welcome to Hanken's Library! This guide is aimed for helping new students on all levels getting started using the Hanken Library services. Here you also find useful tips on how to search information in databases and how to use proper reference technique.

ABC of source criticism

Stay source critical to the information you find, especially when it comes to material freely available online. Always try to find and cite the primary source in your papers, instead of secondary sources where the information can be misinterpreted or false.

Pay attention to how your digital foot steps are stored in online search engines. This means that you will receive information based on who you are, your interests, your search history, your location and what sites you have visited before. 

The film below from Code.org (5:12) explains shortly what is going on when doing searches online:

Se en interaktiv presentation över hur sökningar i Google går till:

How to spot fake news?

Source criticism according to the SIFT-method

Source criticism according to the SIFT-method follows four steps: 

  • S - Stop. Does the source seem reliable, what do you know about the source from before?
  • I - Investigate the source. Search for more information on the source from other sources. Who has written the source and could there be a hidden agenda?
  • F - Find better coverage. Has the information been mentioned in other sources, especially sources you know deliver reliable facts or news?
  • T - Trace claims, quotes and media to the original context. Find primary sources confirming the information.

sift logo source criticism

Källa: https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/. 

How to find the most cited articles?

Would you like to start your project by reading the most influential articles written on the topic? Make sure that you don't miss including the classics to your paper. For this you might want to find out which articles are the most cited.Try using a citation database. We have currently access to three databases: