The Lindenwood University Library serves all Lindenwood students, staff, and faculty. The library is housed in the Library and Academic Research Center. The library contains our print collection of over 80,000 volumes, group and individual study rooms, study spaces, the Media and Gaming Lab, Archives and much more.
The library has many resources available online that are accessible from anywhere. Our eBook collections contain more than 300,000 titles. We also have over 100 databases that contain thousands of journals for all disciplines. All these online resources can be accessed through the library website. To gain access to these resources when not on campus, use the username and password that you would use for Canvas.
If you need more information please contact us using any of the methods listed on the Getting Help tab.
Not all sources are equal in quality so finding the right source for your paper is critical. It is often easy to search the internet and find something, but that does not mean that source is one that you should use. There are lots of questions you can ask yourself to see if a source fits your needs and the needs of the assignment you are working on. TRAAP is one that hopefully will help you determine if you should use a source or look for something more appropriate.
If you find something you are not sure is reliable, use TRAAP to analyze the information. You can do this with any source, but definitely evaluate everything you find from the internet (databases should have mostly reliable resources and you can eliminate non-peer reviewed sources from your search).
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Timeliness The timeliness/newness of the information |
Ask: When was the information published or posted? Has the information been revised or updated? Is the information current or too out-of-date for my topic? |
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Relevance The importance of the information for your needs. |
Ask: Does the information relate to my topic or answer my question? Who is the intended audience? Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too simple or advanced) for my needs? Did I look at a variety of sources before deciding to use this one? |
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Authority The source of the information. |
Ask: Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor? What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations, if given? What other pieces has this author wrote? Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source (.com .edu .gov .org .net)? |
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Accuracy The reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the information. |
Ask: Where does the information come from? Is the information supported by evidence? Has the information been reviewed by anyone else? Can I verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge? Does the language or tone seem biased? Or is it free of emotion? Errors? |
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Purpose The reason the information exists. |
Ask: What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade? Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda? Does the point of view appear objective and impartial? Are there political, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases? |
