Evaluating sources means judging them to determine how reliable and appropriate they are for your topic, your assignment, your purpose, and your audience. To evaluate sources, use the critical thinking and reading skills you have learned and used in earlier chapters. Before using a source for your paper, apply the following questions to all sources: print, electronic, and open access Web.

Questions for Evaluating All Sources

WHO IS THE AUTHOR?

Is the author actually an expert on the topic? Many celebrities, for example, are involved in worthwhile charitable causes that they learn a great deal about. But just because Matt Damon, George Clooney, or Angelina Jolie writes a statement or an article about a cause does not make him or her an expert.

Most sources provide some information about authors. Books have an “About the Author” section, usually at the end or on the book jacket. Periodicals have biographical headnotes or notes about the author at the end of the article. Read this information to make sure that the author has the authority and knowledge to make the source reliable.

IS THE SOURCE WELL KNOWN AND RESPECTED?

Certain sources are generally agreed to be reliable, though not always unbiased. National magazines such as Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, and others verify information before publishing it. Periodicals that you find on a subscription database are also usually reliable. Newspapers too usually verify information before using it, though the tabloids (like the ones sold in the supermarket checkout lines) are not reliable. Their purpose is to shock and entertain, not necessarily to tell the truth.

IS THE SOURCE UP-TO-DATE?

Look to see when a source was published. If your topic is in a rapidly changing field (for example, science or medicine), your source should be as recent as possible to include the most current knowledge. On the other hand, if you learn about a person or a work that is considered classic (something that has been respected for a long time), the publication date is not as important. For example, Michael McQuiston’s topic, green landscaping, is a relatively new practice, so he should be looking for works that have been published recently. In his reading, however, if he learns of a practice that changed the whole direction of landscaping, that would be considered classic work. Depending on his purpose, he might want to include a reference to that work, in addition to new findings. Whatever your topic is, judge each possible source for how current the information is.

IS THE SOURCE UNBIASED?

Every writer reflects some personal opinion on the subject he or she writes about. However, a good source balances those opinions with reasonable evidence. But facts and numbers can be used differently by people with different biases. For example, a researcher who believes in strict gun control may cite statistics about how many children are killed each year in gun accidents. A researcher who believes in the individual right to own guns may use statistics about how many people are killed in robberies or burglaries. Both writers use accurate numbers to argue different positions.

Consider the author’s background to determine if he or she is likely to be biased in a way that interferes with reliability. In the gun issue, if an author is president of an organization named CeaseFire, he has a bias toward gun control. If an author is president of the National Rifle Association, he has a bias toward gun ownership. If you think an author is strongly advocating one side of an issue without addressing the other side, move on to another source, or include both sides in your essay.

Questions for Evaluating Web Sites

The Web is open to anyone with Internet access, which is one of the great things about it. Anyone can develop a Web site to promote anything he or she wants. That very openness means, though, that you have to be even more critical in evaluating information that you find on a Web site, especially if you are using a general search engine such as Google, Bing, or others.

The extension to the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the letters after the first period (or “dot”). Different extensions convey information about the site’s sponsor.

As a general rule, educational (.edu) and government (.gov) sites are likely to be reliable. The commercial and personal sites (.com, .net) may be good sources, but they may also be promoting the opinions of a biased person or group of people. A nonprofit group’s site (.org) also may present either good or biased information. When a search brings you to Web sites with .com, .net, or .org extensions, find out about the sponsors of the sites and examine the sites for evidence of strong bias.

In addition to the questions that you would ask to evaluate any source, add the following, which use your critical reading and thinking skills.

QUESTIONS TO ASK IN EVALUATING A WEB SITE