Learn about each author’s credentials, affiliations, and reputation so that any author who shapes or supports your ideas is reliable and trustworthy.

Print Credentials. Check for the author’s background in any preface, introduction, or concluding note in an article or a book. National newsmagazines (for example, The Economist or Time) usually identify experts before or next to their contributions. However, most of their articles are written by reporters who try to substantiate facts and cover multiple views, perhaps compiling regional contributions. In contrast, some other magazines select facts to mirror editorial opinions.

Internet Credentials. For a Web site, look for a hyperlinked author’s name leading to other articles, a link to author information, or an e-mail address so you could contact the author about his or her background. If your source is a posting to a newsgroup or a mailing list, deduce what you can from the writer’s e-mail address and any signature file. Try a Web search for the person’s name, looking for associated sites or links to or from the author’s site. If you can’t find out about the author, treat the information as background for you, not as evidence in your paper.

Field Credentials. For field research, you may be able to select your sources. Consider their backgrounds, credentials, and biases. To investigate safety standards for infant car seats, a personal interview with a local pediatrician will probably produce different information than an interview with a sales representative.

Reputation. A good measure of someone’s expertise is the regard of other experts. Do others cite the work of your source’s author? Does your instructor or a campus expert recognize or recommend the author? Is the author listed in a biographical database? Does a search for the author on Google Scholar produce other sources that cite the author?

Material with No Author Identified. If no author is given, try to identify the sponsor, publisher, or editor. On a Web site, check the home page or search for a disclaimer, contact information, or an “About This Site” page. If a print source doesn’t list an author, consider the publication: Is the article in a respected newspaper like the Wall Street Journal or a supermarket tabloid? Is the source a news story, an opinion piece, or an ad? Is the brochure published by a leader in its field?