Evaluating Sources

Regardless of where you find information, whether it be a library database or the open web, it is important to take a moment to evaluate any source of information you come across before assuming it is true.

The library databases provide access to scholarly material (which has been vetted and evaluated by experts) but also to newspapers, wire feeds, transcripts of news shows, and other types of documents.

Regrettably, much of what is now regarded as "news" is profit-driven (as opposed to informative) and often opinionated (as opposed to objective). Scholarly articles may also be published with inaccuracies, leading to article retractions (or, removal from publication).

This means that no matter what kind of source you are looking at or where you got the information from, it's always useful to ask a few basic questions to quickly evaluate the quality of your resources when you first come across them:

• What are my purposes for this information (why am I looking at it)?
• What type of document is this? (news article, scholarly, magazine, website, etc.)
• Who is the author? What are their credentials?
• When was it published (or last updated)? Is it current enough for my purposes?

After you ask these questions, you can delve further into evaluating the source once you've completed reading ti:

• Who is the intended audience? 
• What is the main point of the document?
• Are opposing viewpoints or alternative arguments included? Does the writer acknowledge their limitations?
• What kind of evidence is provided? Are references included?

Check out the video below and the tabs to the left for more strategies on evaluating your sources.