EVALUATING SOURCES
Evaluating sources is an essential part of writing a paper using sources. Unless you locate solid, relevant, and reliable sources and think critically about the ideas presented in each, your essay will lack academic rigor and credibility.
CHOOSING RELEVANT SOURCES
A relevant source contains information that helps you answer one or more of your research questions. Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether a source is relevant.
- Is the source appropriate for your intended audience, or is it too general or too specialized?
- Is the source up-to-date or recent enough for your purposes? In rapidly changing fields of study, outdated sources are not useful unless you need to give a historical perspective.
CHOOSING RELIABLE SOURCES
A reliable source is honest, accurate, and credible. Ask the following questions to help you determine whether a source is reliable, regardless of whether you accessed it in print or online.
- Is the source scholarly? Although scholars often disagree with one another, they make a serious attempt to present accurate information.
- Does the source have a solid reputation? Some news sources — magazines such as Time or the Economist and newspapers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times — are known for responsible reporting, whereas other newspapers and magazines have a reputation for sensationalism or bias. Such sources may be useful when you are exploring multiple perspectives on an issue, but be careful about interpreting articles in these publications as “the truth.”
- What is the publication’s purpose? Why was the source published? In the case of general-interest magazines like The Week, which summarizes many articles from magazines and newspapers around the world, the purpose is clear: to provide readers with a wide variety of perspectives on issues of local and global importance. The purpose of a flyer left in your mailbox may be to introduce a new business in your neighborhood or to get you to convert to a new religion. To determine purpose, look for a link on the publication’s Web site labeled “About Us” or “Mission Statement.”
- Is the source professionally edited and presented? Professionally published, reliable sources are generally free of typographical errors. Materials with obvious mistakes, as well as amateur typesetting or design, are often unreliable. Blogs may be good sources of viewpoint pieces, but a blog is really just one person’s online diary. This means that blogs are subject to heavy bias as well as possible factual errors.
- Is the author an expert in the field? Check the author’s credentials. Information about authors may be given in a headnote, in a link to the author’s biography, in the preface, or elsewhere. You might also check a reference work such as Contemporary Authors or Google the author to verify credentials.
- Does the author approach the topic fairly and objectively? A writer who states a strong opinion is not necessarily biased. However, a writer who ignores opposing views, distorts facts, or ignores information that does not fit his or her opinion is presenting a biased and incomplete view of a topic. (For more on evaluating sources, see Chapter 4.)
- Can the content be verified? The content in reliable sources can be verified in other reliable sources. Be cautious about using a piece of information you can find in only one source. Also be skeptical of any source that purports to summarize research or cite facts but does not provide a list of works cited (or, in the case of popular sources, attribution within the article or in footnotes).
EVALUATING RESOURCES IN THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE
Use special care in evaluating the quality of the electronic materials you consult. In addition to the guidelines listed above, also consider the following.
- If you accessed the source through a library database or found the source through your college library’s catalog, it is most likely reliable.
- If the source is an electronic version of a respected print publication (such as the New York Times or Boston Globe), the source is likely reliable. Be careful, however, about distinguishing between content that is edited and checked by the publication (and is therefore reliable) and links to other sources or any comments posted by readers.
- If the source does not specify its authorship or does not provide any information about the author’s qualifications, proceed with caution.
- If the source contains factual errors, poor layout or design, too many photos and not enough words, or highly charged or emotional language, these are all signs that the source may be biased and lack credibility.
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT SOURCES
As you select sources for possible use in your paper, it is important to think critically about each. The following list of questions will help you analyze and evaluate sources.
- Analyze the author’s ideas. Does the author make reasonable inferences, use reliable evidence, and make it clear when he or she is expressing an opinion?
- Analyze the author’s language. Does the author’s use of connotation and figurative language reveal bias? What does the author’s tone indicate about his or her attitude? Does the author use euphemisms to hide something or to spare feelings? (For more on identifying bias by examining the writer’s use of language, see Chapter 4.)
- Analyze the author’s assumptions, generalizations, and omissions. Are the author’s assumptions and generalizations fair and reasonable? Are they supported by evidence? Do they reinforce or challenge social standards? Does any information seem to be omitted or treated in a less than thorough or complete way?
The way an author presents ideas, the language an author uses, and the assumptions, generalizations, and omissions that he or she makes may all help you detect bias. Bias refers to a publisher’s or writer’s own views or particular interest in a topic. A biased source is not necessarily unreliable, but you need to recognize bias when you see it and find additional sources that present other points of view. Pay particular attention to the writer’s tone.
Many relevant and reliable sources demonstrate bias. Some provide only a portion of the information you need for your paper. For example, if you are writing an essay on problems in the nursing profession, The American Journal of Nursing might be a reliable source, but it would probably not contain articles that are critical of nurses.
Other sources may have a strong opinion and present information from that point of view. For example, suppose you are writing an essay on home schooling for an introductory education class, and you find a book titled The Home Schooling Movement: What Children Are Missing. The author taught at a public high school for thirty years. This book may offer valuable information, but you need to recognize that its author supports classroom instruction and so may emphasize the shortcomings of home schooling or downplay its advantages. To use a biased source effectively, take the author’s point of view into consideration as you evaluate the evidence the source provides.
The following worksheet can help you evaluate the relevance and reliability of sources.
