Academic Sources

Academic sources are essential sources of information for students, researchers, and scholars who want to gain a deeper understanding of a subject. These sources are typically written for an academic audience and are valued for their credibility, evidence-based content, and contribution to academic discussions.

They are characterized by their authoritative tone, rigorous methodology, and extensive citation of other academic work. By using academic sources, you can critically evaluate different debates, engage with diverse perspectives, and build a solid foundation for conducting your own research.

Academic sources:

• can be primary or secondary types of research
• are written by academics or authors who are recognised experts in their field or involved in research
• are written by authors who are usually associated with a university or recognised research body
• will contain references and citations from other academic sources and previous research studies
• are often peer-reviewed or undergo some form of editing process
• are evidence-based
• are usually written in a formal style and often contain technical or specialised language
• are usually written for academics, researchers and professionals who work in a field

If you are unsure if a source is considered "academic enough", ask yourself how well the source meets these criteria. 

Academic sources go beyond surface-level explanations and provide a much deeper understanding of a subject. They present formally published research, as well as informed and authoritative current discussions and debates on a topic. The views and arguments might still be contested, but they must be taken seriously because of the research undertaken to reach these conclusions.

Using non-academic or poor-quality sources will impact on your assignment marks or research as it will show that you have not been critical in your selection of material, and you have not applied scholarly rigour in choosing sources to examine a topic and support your arguments.