Sourcing literature


Unlike the old days, there are lots of different ways to search for nutrition information you need. But is the information always reliable? In this section, we will explain what the key sources of literature are and how to assess their credibility.

Key sources
Where to locate?
Books
Public libraries
·         State libraries
·         Community libraries
Online databases
Some examples include:
·         Medline
·         PubMed
·         ScienceDirect
Published journal articles
Some examples include:
·        Journal of The American Dietetic Association
·        British Journal of Nutrition
·        European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Search engine
Google scholar



However, you need to be very careful if the literature you found is web-based. There are some areas you need to check in order to judge the credibility.

Home page
On the home page, there is more information could be found related to the website. Some websites have ‘About Us’ link, which sometimes could give you an idea about the author or sponsor. The profile regarding the author/sponsor could help you make some judgments on the website’s credibility.
References
The reference list is another thing you can use to determine the credibility, when there is statistical data presented.
Domain types
Domain types can also help you to assess the credibility. In general, .gov (government website), .edu (education website) and .ac (academic website) are high in credibility compared with .org (organisation website), .com (commercial website) or .net.




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