INDG-0012 Indigenous Perspectives Assessments

Keywords, also referred to as search terms, are words that represent the main ideas of your topic. These words are considered the most important, (or the key), ideas, concepts, or subjects about which you’re looking for information. 

For assignments in the Indigenous Perspectives course, consider combining the following search terms in various ways to find information related to your assignments.

General keywords for all assignments

• (Indigenous OR aboriginal OR native OR “first nations” OR inuit OR métis OR indian) - using this group of words accounts for all the different terms that have been used over time to describe Indigenous peoples.
• Canada

Be sure to enter the search terms exactly as they're written here, including special characters or capitalization. This tells databases how to search in a very specific way.

To learn more about using connecting words (AND, OR, NOT) and other special characters with your keywords, read the Search Strategies section of the Research Library Guide.

Assignment-specific keywords

Assessment 1

• colonization
• colonialism
• treaties
• laws
• legal status
• Indian Act

Assessment 2

• systemic
  • challenges
  • barriers

• cultural inclusiveness
• cultural inclusion

Assessment 3

• colonization
• colonialism

Assessment 4

• privilege
• bias
• ethical principles
• social work
• cultural competence
• professional practice
• community work

Assessment 5

• traditions
• governance
• economy
• social structure
• pre-contact
• post-contact

Reading Articles

You don’t necessarily have to read an entire article! Instead, look for sections called:

• “Abstract”
• “Discussion”
• “Conclusion”

These will help you quickly determine whether or not the article meets your needs and is relevant. At the college level, these sections are really all you need to complete your assignments.

Citation Chaining

Once you find two or three relevant articles, take a look at the reference lists from those articles. This is called citation chaining. There you’ll find a list of sources the author(s) used to write their own article – just like what you’ll do for your own paper. These sources should provide further information on the subject discussed in the article.

You can also find what articles have cited your resource. This is called forward citation chaining and is a great way to find resources that have been published more recently. Forward citation chaining can be done using Google Scholar, as demonstrated in the video below. 

How to Determine Quality

There are four things to consider when determining the quality of information. Instead of determining if a resource is “good” or “bad”, evaluate its credibility, accuracy, reliability, and relevance. Use these criteria to evaluate all types of resources, including information generated by artificial intelligence (AI). What do these terms mean?

Credibility

Credibility means how likely the information is to be trustworthy. Some indications of a source’s credibility might be:

• an author’s/presenter’s level of expertise in the field
• the trustworthiness of the source’s publisher (e.g. the journal or magazine)
• the reputation of the author and/or the publisher

Accuracy

Accuracy means how likely the information is to be correct. Some indications of a source’s accuracy might be:

• the information presented can be verified in other sources
• the information is supported by evidence (e.g. references are provided for credible sources mentioned in the work; the sources exist and are relevant to your topic)
• the information is current, or if older, is still correct

Reliability

Reliability means someone or something that has proven to be consistently correct. Some indications of a source’s reliability might be:

• a publisher that consistently publishes content that is correct

• an author who has published a number of works in trustworthy publications

• the information is presented in a way that doesn’t rely on:

  • personal opinions
  • feelings
  • sponsorships
  • advertising

Relevance

Relevance means the information relates to your topic. Some indications of a source’s relevance might be:

• the information relates to your topic or answers your question
• the information is at the appropriate level
• the purpose of the source meets your needs (e.g. information can be meant to inform, persuade, or entertain)

Resource Evaluation Checklists

Use our checklist to help you determine whether a resource is of quality.