Credible Sources

The sources you cite in your speech are part of your self-presentation to your audience (Chapter 2). If your sources are outdated or from your cousin’s blog, you will present a self that says, “I am unprepared and I didn’t research my topic thoroughly.” Conversely, if you offer statistics, facts, and stories from a variety of current, reliable, and compelling sources, you present yourself as trustworthy, prepared, and competent—and your audience is more likely to consider what you’re saying.

In today’s media, anyone can put up a blog or a Web page, edit a wiki, or post a video to YouTube. (This is why many instructors forbid students to use supporting material from Wikipedia.) What’s more, a large and growing number of opinion-based publications, broadcasting networks, and Web sites provide an outlet for research that is heavily biased. Consequently, it is always worth spending a little time evaluating credibility, the quality, authority, and reliability, of each source you use. One simple way to approach this is to evaluate the author’s credentials. This means that you should note if the author is a medical doctor, Ph.D., attorney, CPA, or other licensed professional and whether he or she is affiliated with a reputable organization or institution. For example, if you are seeking statistics on the health effects of cigarette smoke, an article written by an M.D. affiliated with the American Lung Association would be more credible than an editorial written by a high school French teacher.

A credible source may show a trail of research by supplying details about where the information came from, such as a thorough list of references. In newswriting, source information is integrated into the text. A newspaper or magazine article, for example, will credit information to named sources (“Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said . . .”) or credentialed but unnamed sources (“One high-ranking State Department official said, on condition of anonymity . . .”).

The Internet poses special problems when it comes to credibility due to the ease with which material can be posted online. Check for balanced, impartial information that is not biased, and note the background or credentials of the authors. If references are listed, verify them to confirm their authenticity. Web sites can be quickly assessed for reliability by looking at the domain, or the suffix of the Web site address. Credible Web sites often end with .edu (educational institution), .org (organization), or .gov (government).