Evaluating Sources - Here are a few tips you can use to quickly evaluate a source:
- Source: Where was this published? Is there an editorial board? Is it peer-reviewed? Is this a reliable and relevant source? For example, while for some topics the New York Times might be a great source, if what I am looking for is an in-depth scholarly source that is not where I want to start.
- Timeliness: When was this written? Is the information still relevant and useful?
- Author: Who wrote it? What is their role and authority on the issue? Are they a specialist on this topic? What are their credentials? What is their affiliation? This is often the best place to go when searching in broader databases to see if this is written from a specific perspective (i.e., historical, sociological, media studies, etc.).
- Audience: Who was this written for? Does it have a particular point of view? Within certain publications, you can have both in-depth research articles and opinion pieces. Try to be aware of what kind of articles are featured in a different publications (i.e., trade magazine or newspaper will have varying types while a scholarly journal will have in-depth research). Also keep in mind that some publications may carry bias and often feature viewpoints aimed at a particular audience.
- Citations: These can be a very useful tool in two ways when conducting research. First, if an article has been cited many times, that can help you determine if it is important to the studies in that area. Second, if you find one article that covers your topic well you can use the citations in that article to find additional information. Google Scholar enables quick checks of citation count and links out to the citations themselves.
