Environment

What kind of information do you need?  If you are writing for a class assignment, you may be required to use peer-reviewed ("refereed") or scholarly sources.  In any case, you should always look for sources that are authoritative.

Important Definitions

Scholarly Journal Articles – credible sources that have been written by an expert/academic in a field relevant to your project and reviewed by other experts in the same field

Websites – just because you found something on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s a website (eBooks are available online, but they are not considered websites)

Peer-review – the process or experts in a field evaluating work in the same field

Primary sources – first-hand accounts (examples include speeches, letters, photographs, autobiographies

Evaluating Sources

What kind of information do you need?  If you are writing for a class assignment, you may be required to use peer-reviewed ("refereed") or scholarly sources.  In any case, you should always look for sources that are authoritative.  For more detailed help with evaluating your sources, see our Evaluating Information Guide.  

Scholarly Checklist--Look for:

• Authors listed, with credentials
• Cited references and data, observations, or statistics to support conclusions
• Reviewed by peers or experts in the subject
• Purpose is to inform or impart knowledge, not to sell, persuade, entertain
• Appears impartial--few or no advertisements, no emotional language, unbiased

Authoritative--A source can have authority even if it isn't scholarly.

• Author and/or publisher is an expert on the subject
• Author's affiliations and contact information are available

Other Criteria-- these are not definitive, but worthy of consideration:

• Do you see errors in spelling, grammar, data?
• Is the publication in turn cited by other credible works published later?
• How current is the information (no date? be suspicious)?

• What type of source is it?
  • A Tweet? A blog post? A website? A popular magazine article? Scholarly journal article? A trade publication? A stakeholder interview? A patent?
• Who wrote it?
  • Does the author demonstrate Expertise, Authoritativeness, or Trustworthiness (E-A-T)?
    • Are they trustworthy? Do they have visible credentials?
    • Do they have authority in this subject? Do they work in that field? Are they educated in the subject? Do they have related professional or personal experience?
  • Is the content user generated (wikis, internet forums, group blogs)?
• Why was it written?
  • Who is the intended audience?
    • Where was it published (A scholarly journal? A popular magazine?)
  • Is it sponsored?
  • Is the author trying to sell something?
• Is the information accurate?
  • Was the work peer-reviewed?
  • Does it cite other works?
    • What sources does the author use for getting their information?
    • Are there enough sources cited to support the claim(s)?
  • Does the tone of language seem unbiased?
  • Is the information current or up to date?
• Does the source support the assignment?
  • Is the content relevant or appropriate for the context of the assignment?
  • Does the paper need primary sources?
  • Does the paper need popular opinions on a topic?
  • Do claims in the paper need to be back with evidence? Are there scholarly resources to support this?