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St. Mary's Library Learning Commons: Research Help

St. Mary's High School logoResearch Help

The RADAR Method

Have these ideas "on your radar" to critically evaluate resources for your assignments:

R: Relevance

  • Is the information relevant to your assignment by addressing your research question or topic?
  • Have you reviewed a range of different resources and determined if this is the best one to use to meet the requirements for the assignment?

A: Authority

  • Who was the information written or created by? (Publisher, academic or professional organization, person, etc.)
  • Is the creator have the education, experience, and job qualifications to make them an expert in their subject?
  • Is the creator connected to a trustworthy organization (government, college/university, research group)?
  • Is the author referenced by other researchers, and does the author reference well-cited information themselves?
  • Is it possible to find contact information for the author such as a website with email/contact form, or through their publisher?

D: Date

  • Is the creation date included? Is that relevant to your assignment?
  • Is older information useful/necessary? Is it a core resource about your topic?
  • Are there any updates/revisions to what had been published previously?
  • Are any website links included in the research still functional?

A: Accuracy

  • Are there details to suggest how accurate the source is (references, noting other experts in that subject, etc.)
  • Can the information be verified by other sources?
  • Is it cited properly?
  • Does it look professional?
  • Was this information reviewed/edited by someone familiar with the subject?
  • Was it published by a reliable source (academic publisher, peer-reviewed journal, etc.)?

R: Reason for writing 

  • What was the reason this information was created? Inform, entertain, convince, sell something?

Adapted from:
Mandalios, J. (2013). RADAR: An approach for helping students evaluate Internet sources. Journal Of Information Science, 39, 470-478. doi:10.1177/0165551513478889

Other Guides for Evaluating Sources

Boolean Operators

Boolean operators are words or punctuation that can help make searching catalogues, search engines, and other types of databases more effective by either broadening or narrowing your results, and improve how relevant the results are. 

Capitalize your Boolean operators as some search tools won't work without that.

AND

narrows results by only including those with both of the words included in your search phrase

 sports AND women

OR

 broadens results to include either of the search words you've included. Good to use if there are multiple words with similar meanings to your search word. climate OR environment

NOT

 excludes results containing that word from your results physics NOT quantum

" " 

quotation marks

 Gives results containing that specific phrase "same sex"

( ) parentheses

 enclose words to customize your results (vaping or smoking) and cancer = results will contain either vaping AND cancer, smoking AND cancer, but not anything about smoking/vaping that doesn't include cancer

*

asterisk

 wildcard symbol; finds words starting with the same letters but have different endings/suffixes. vaccin* will search for: vaccinate, vaccination, vaccine, vaccinating, vaccinated
  • To search within a webpage/document: hit CTRL-F on the keyboard to open the page search tool, and type in the word you are searching for.
  • Use the advanced search (usually linked beside the general search box). This often give choices of filters to narrow down your search (year, type of material, publisher, etc.)

Websites for Research Tips

Catalogue Search and Password Doc Box

Search St. Mary's KPL Catalogue Database Logins

SMHS's library location is "Country Hills."

Citation Methods and Tools

 

Borrowing from Institutions Outside the WCDSB

About St. Mary's Library Learning Commons

St. Mary's High School logo

Mary Jo Kenny

St. Mary's Librarian

 

Phone: 519.745.6892 ext. 5630     |     Email

St. Mary's High School

500 Block Line Road, Kitchener, ON, N2C 2S2

 

St. Mary's Library Learning Commons is a joint-use space in partnership with Kitchener Public Library's Country Hills Community Library. A Kitchener Public Library Card is needed to:Kitchener Public Library logo

  • borrow items and place holds
  • access KPL digital content such as eBooks/eAudiobooks, streaming music/videos, and access databases.

Visit the library service desk to sign up for a card (please bring your SMHS student card as proof of identity).

  • If you lose your card, replacement cards are free of charge.
  • Maximum of 100 items per card.
  • Maximum of 4 books on a single subject.
  • Access items from all 5 of KPL's locations.

Currently, all available items can be borrowed for 3 weeks, and can be renewed 2 times, as long as other customers have not placed holds on the items. See KPL's Loans and Fines page for more details.

All lost or damaged items are the responsibility of the cardholder. Please keep your card safe, and protect your account by not lending your card to others.

Our school library is a public space jointly shared by Kitchener Public Library's community customers. During the school day (9 AM - 2:55 PM) the library is considered part of the school and students are expected to abide by St. Mary's Code of Conduct and Policies & Procedures. Please use the library in a way that respects the needs of the Country Hills community, KPL staff, and your fellow St. Mary's staff and students. Your kindness and cooperation are appreciated.

  • Full uniform, even on spare.
  • Please use St. Mary's designated area.
    • Seating: St. Mary's Learning Commons is the area with the blue chairs and black armchairs. Seating outside this area is reserved for KPL's community visitors during those times.
    • Computers/printing: students can use the WCDSB computers in the St. Mary's Learning Commons area. Students with school-related work have priority for computer access.

  • Students access is available 1) during class visits supervised by their teacher, 2) at lunch, 3) during a spare period, and 4) after school.

    Teachers can also contact Ms. Kenny to request permission for individual students to quickly visit the library without their teacher during class time if they need to print, pick up a book or get librarian assistance.

  • Please help keep the library tidy. Use the garbage/recycling bins, keep food/drinks away from computers/electronic equipment, and keep floors/furniture/other library surfaces tidy.

The library is accessible during Kitchener Public Library's opening hours:

Monday - Thursday: 9 AM - 9 PM 
Friday & Saturday: 9 AM - 5:30 PM

The library closes 1/2 an hour earlier in June, July, and August.

The building where St. Mary's Library Learning Commons is located is jointly shared with the Kitchener Public Library's Country Hills Community Library.  By getting a KPL card, you can access SMHS/Country Hills' collection, as well as request items from any of KPL's 4 other locations. There is something here for you!St. Mary's High School logo

  • Work and study space, including computers 
  • Printers and photocopiers
  • Research resources - books, DVDs, online databases, eBooks and eAudiobooks
  • Help with your research
  • Entertaining books, magazines, DVDs, graphic novels, and more!

St. Mary's High School acknowledges that the land on which we live, teach, and learn today is the land traditionally used by the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral People. We also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, and philosophies of the Indigenous People with whom we share this land today.