What is an Academic Resource and How to Find One

Academic sources, also known as scholarly sources, are sources that can include books, academic journal articles, and published expert reports. The content of these sources has generally been peer-reviewed, meaning that it has been reviewed by experts in the field to ensure its accuracy and quality before being published. When researching a topic for a university assignment, academic sources are preferred over other types of sources. It is important to make sure that the sources used are peer-reviewed, as this will guarantee that they are of higher quality and are widely accepted in your field. The best way to find academic sources is to physically go to the university library, if possible.

Alternatively, you can also find reliable academic sources online with the help of Profs online essay tutors.This usually only happens in high-quality journals and university publishers, although many other reputable publishers that usually publish educational and academic texts also have a peer-review process. The first search results also usually indicate whether they currently work or have worked as academics at a university, which is another way of knowing that their work is reputable. Academics often advise their first-year students to use the library as the only source of reference for their essays and assignments until they have a solid understanding of the types and quality of sources that are acceptable to their discipline. It is always a good idea to check with your teacher or tutor first if they are okay with you using non-academic sources. In some cases, you may find the work of an academic published on a separate website, such as his blog.

Sources such as newspaper articles, magazine articles, opinion articles and websites are usually not academic, although there are some exceptions. Once you have acquired these skills, you can safely access the Internet and ensure that you don't jeopardize your grades or the quality of your research by relying on inappropriate or inaccurate non-academic sources. Unfortunately, many students are still confused about what exactly an academic source (or an academic source) is and how best to find one. In your first year at university, your professors and tutors will likely tell you several times to make sure that you only use academic sources in your essays. There may be cases in which it is acceptable to use a non-academic source, but these will be special cases and are more common in some academic disciplines than in others.

In this case, it is probably an opinion piece rather than research, which would mean that it is not an academic source.

Paul Delaney
Paul Delaney

"Paul Delaney is Director at Content Ranked, a London-based digital marketing agency. He has been working in Education since the 1990s and has more than 15 years digital marketing experience in the sector.As Director at contentranked.com he focuses on SEO strategy for educational organisations; and Paul's expert team support clients with on-page, off-page and technical SEO. He is also Marketing Director at Seed Educational Consulting Ltd, a study abroad agency that helps African students study at university abroad. He has also held significant positions at multinational education brands, including Business Development Director at TUI Travel PLC, Area Manager at Eurocentres Foundation, and Sales Office Manager at OISE.Paul holds a postgraduate diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute, BA in Publishing from Edinburgh Napier University, and a RSA/Cambridge CELTA.Outside of Education Paul is experienced in event promotion, production, and performance in the music industry."