Copyright 1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. Snell, Julia. Currency: Timeliness of the information and whether it is up-to-date and relevant to the topic at hand. Answer (1 of 5): Sources are the foundations not only of journalism but humanity itself. 3. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. How does the website look and feel? This could also give you insight into the author and publishers motivations. Is your topic covered in enough depth to be helpful? an article that is evaluated by other experts in the field) or published by a university press, professional society, or scientific publisher (all of which also operate peer-review processes)? What experience does the author have? For example, some websites are known for being more left-wing or right-wing. Copyright 2022 by The On-Campus Writing Lab& The OWL at Purdueand Purdue University. One of the best ways to evaluate source credibility is the CRAAP test. Podcasts are essentially audio files that can be streamed on a computer or mobile device, like portable radio. If a bibliographic citation seems promising, its a good idea to spend a bit more time with the source before you determine its credibility. Is the source related to your research topic? How do you evaluate the credibility of a source? You can also consider using an academic database like LexisNexis or government open data to get started. Often, it's possible to evaluate the credibility of web sources based on the title, date, and URL. Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary). Is the author an expert in their field? Scribbr. It is an important component of information literacy. Is the field currently dominated by particular theories or. As you read, try to understand the connections between the sources. First, what are the qualifications of the author? Templates for well-designed websites are inexpensive and easily available. Coverage (relevance): Consider whether the source is relevant to your research and whether it covers the topic adequately for your . There are a lot of sources out there, and it can be hard to tell what's credible and what isn't at first glance. Use preliminary evaluation to determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth. Consider your audience and compare with a variety of sources. The ability to navigate and evaluate digital resources is essential to both educators and students. Purdue OWL is a registered trademark. Your resources need to be recent enough for your topic. Legitimate OERs can be a great resource. This article has been viewed 849,783 times. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Domain extensions help differentiate the type of websites and the different purposes they serve. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Can it be interpreted differently? Note for Purdue Students: Schedule a consultation at the on-campus writing lab to get more in-depth writing help from one of our tutors. PNAS Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 111.43 (2014): 15316-15321. My source is relevant to my research topic. Note also that the difference between an opinion and propaganda is that propaganda usually has a specific agenda attachedthat is, the information in the propaganda is being spread for a certain reason or to accomplish a certain goal. Are they an expert or are they less experienced with the topic? A myriad of organisations offer analysis, data, intelligence and research on developments in international higher education. Was the source published on-line? Different news outlets may have different agendas attached to their reporting. Most sites that use clickbait use it to simply gain clicks on their site. Because clickbait sources exist simply to promote webpages, they are not considered credible sources. By using an algorithm, SEO works by locating keywords and sorting information for relevancy and accuracy. The domain extension can help you understand what type of website youre dealing with. Determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth, Increase the quality of the information you consume. While social media is not regularly used as a source in research, sometimes you might use a YouTube video or a tweet from a well-known individual. When evaluating a personal website, find out what you can about the author and their affiliations. What are examples of academic dishonesty? Transcript Need Help? Educational resources end in .edu, and are generally considered the most credible in academic settings. Evaluating sources In order to persuade your reader of your position, your writing needs to incorporate evidence and sources. Scribbr. What about the news? Common evaluation criteria include: purpose and intended audience, authority and credibility, accuracy and reliability, currency and timeliness, and objectivity or bias. 2. 208 Hamilton Hall, Mail Code 28051130 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10027, Follow on Facebook Follow on Twitter Follow on Instagram, 510 Mudd Hall, Mail Code 4714500 W. 120th St.New York, NY 10027, 2023 Columbia University | Privacy | Terms of Use | Accessibility | Notice of Non-Discrimination |University Home Page, Remember, your use of sources is a means of supporting the argument you make. Fish and Wildlife Services might provide the same family of information without agenda bias. If the source appears to represent an opinion, does the author offer legitimate reasons for adopting that stance? NOTE: If you are researching varied opinions and biases on a topic, then such sources would be appropriate. Evaluating the Credibility of Your Sources Remember, your use of sources is a means of supporting the argument you make. What is his or her educational background? How do you evaluate the credibility of a source? By following these guidelines, you can produce a high-quality research paper that showcases your research skills and impresses your audience. Published on Do they have credible work or study experience? Audience. Does the information come from an author or organization that has authority to speak on your topic? Timeliness. All rights reserved. 2015. Purdue OWL is a registered trademark. by A credible source is one that provides accurate and trustworthy information from experts in the field of study. What is the importance of material sources? For example, as recently as the 1960s, most scholarly linguists believed African American Vernacular English to be a deficient, broken form of standard American English reflective of African Americans lack of cognitive abilities. I have checked that it is supported by evidence and/or verifiable elsewhere. Google Scholar is a search engine for academic sources. As you navigate through different sources, you need to examine the authors and the websites other credentials before making assumptions simply by the domain extension. Name recognition is often the first thing you consider to determine reliability. Citing information from an unreliable source makes academic audiences wary of your entire argument because it is based on information held to a lower level of integrity. If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the Cite this Scribbr article button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator. Determining a websites credibility can be especially confusing for websites with a .org extension that appear to have a governmental or educational affiliation. What are the top three things that indicate that my source is credible? There are six (6) criteria that should be applied when evaluating any Web site: authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage, and appearance. Reliability can be estimated by comparing different versions of the same measurement. 2015. Beware of grandiose claims, and critically analyze anything not cited or backed up by evidence. Look for: Even sources whose conclusions you disagree with can be relevant, as they can strengthen your argument by offering alternative perspectives. Websites that end in .com or .org are credible if they're backed by respected institutions, but not if they have a clear bias or are created by a private individual. (2022, December 07). For example, podcasts like Stuff You Missed in History Classand Historium Unearthiaprovide information on often-overlooked historical events. How can you tell if a source is credible? Useful approaches include the CRAAP test and lateral reading. Sometimes simply typing an authors name into a search engine will give you an initial springboard for information. Evaluating Sources: General Guidelines Once you have an idea of the types of sources you need for your research, you can spend time evaluating individual sources. 2015. If you cannot find that information corroborated in scholarly sources, thats a red flag that the information is not trustworthy, and you should not include it in your argument. A few of the most common social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Instagram. You should have a clear idea of your own research question or topic and . The CRAAP test is an acronym to help you evaluate the credibility of a source you are considering using. Consider the tone, style, vocabulary, level of information, and assumptions the author makes about the reader. With so much advertising, controversy, and blogging going on, how do you sift through the chaff and cut to the chase? Scholarly sources are written by experts in a particular discipline for other experts in their field. Browse through the Table of Contents and the Index. [For web sources]: The layout of my source is professional and recently updated. This means that the sources you reference need to be credible and authoritative. As you continue to encounter more sources, evaluating them for credibility will become easier. Consulting the index for key terms or the names of important scholars. As you examine each source, it is important to evaluate each source to determine the quality of the information provided within it. As such, you should be more cautious with it. Below are some suggestions for evaluating digital texts and a breakdown of the different types of sources available online. Both of these individuals have blue checks next to their Twitter handles, which means the accounts are verified. Some personal websites exist solely to spread propaganda or other biased information. For example, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will provide only that information which supports their cause, whereas the U.S. Sometimes, the currency of the source is very important. Utilizing rigorous criteria, a panel of reviewers in the same subject area decide whether to accept each submission for publication. Indeed, many articles start out by giving oneperhaps not particularly evenhandedview of the subject, and it is after a long process of discussion, debate, and argument that they gradually take on aconsensusform. These texts will have scholarly credibility. This allows you to: A credible source should pass the CRAAP testand follow these guidelines: The CRAAP test is an acronym to help you evaluate the credibility of a source you are considering using. Last Updated: December 13, 2022 Similarly, Wikipedia is not considered a reliable source due to the fact that it can be edited by anyone at any time. It benefits students and researchers who need to evaluate sources for academic purposes. If a source has a list of references, it often means that the source is well-researched and thorough. Common evaluation criteria include: purpose and intended audience, authority and credibility, accuracy and reliability, currency and timeliness, and objectivity or bias. Because so much information is now available online, its important to know how to navigate digital sources versus print sources. In the same family of information, and assumptions the author and their affiliations advertising,,! 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