Library Guides: ENGL 314: Technical Communication: Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Scholarly Books & Articles

You need to evaluate information no matter where it comes from whether it's from online, scholarly books, and articles. Some of the fundamental questions to consider during evaluation are:

AUTHOR	Who is the author? What are their credentials (degrees, positions, honors)? If the author is an organization, what can you find out about this organization? Google the author. You may find book reviews and other helpful information. What else has the author written? This can help you determine whether the person is an authority on the topic.
PUBLISHER	Who is the publisher? What else have they published? Was it published by scholarly publishers (such as university presses and scholarly associations) or commercial publishers, government agencies, or other types of publishers? Does it make a difference who published it? What is the publisher's reputation?
PURPOSE	What is its purpose: to present research knowledge, inform you, get you to buy something, or persuade you? Does the resource present fact or opinion? Is the material objective, showing multiple sides of an issue? Or does it present only one side or one specific issue? Who is the intended audience?
CONTENT	Is the coverage of the topic complete, or are there gaps? Is the approach basic or advanced? Does it offer more than one perspective? How is it organized?
USEFULNESS	Don't choose your sources based on how easily you found them. Instead, make sure the content is useful and relevant to your topic. Does the book/journal article cover the topic you need? Is that coverage sufficient, or is it too superficial or too detailed for your purposes?
ACCURACY	Is the book or article well written and well-edited? Are there noticeable mistakes in spelling or grammar? Is it written in a style that you would expect for the topic and audience? Is their research supported with resources? Does it include a bibliography, footnotes, or other list of works consulted? Does the list seem comprehensive, or are just a few sources mentioned?
CURRENCY	When was the book or article written? When was it published? Is the information still current or valid? If the information is no longer current, does it still have value for your needs? There may be some sources considered "classics" in your field. Different disciplines will have different needs as to the importance of currency versus older, established publications and materials.

Evaluation

Not all information is created equal

Finding sources for your project is only one part of the research process. An equally important part is being able to tell if the sources you've located are trustworthy, high-quality, and appropriate for your topic.

Evaluating sources with SIFT

SIFT is a helpful acronym that describes steps used to evaluate the information you find online.

This an abbreviated version, for more information and guidance check out our section on Evaluating Sources in the Library 1600 modules on Canvas:

LIB 1600 Module 4: Evaluating Information

Stop

Check yourself. Recognize your own biases, beliefs, and potential blind spots and acknowledge that they will affect your judgment.
Stay on task. It is easy to get lost exploring interesting tangents while researching. If this happens, stop and remember what you actually need for your project.

Investigate the source

Even if the sources you’ve found seem to fit your project’s topic well, you will still need to evaluate them in other ways.

Who shared or made this source?
What is the author's or organization's credentials and reputation?
How is the information presented; are these facts or opinions?
Are there any conflicts of interest that might affect the way that they represent this topic?

Find better coverage

Before using a source check to see if the topic has been covered elsewhere.

What else is out there?
Has anyone else written about it?
Do other publications provide more information about the topic, or better context?
Do other publications tell the same story and contain the same facts? Try to locate additional sources that are more detailed, varied, transparent, authoritative, and/or build upon the information presented in your initial source.

Trace it back

Context matters. Before trusting or reusing information you've found, make sure you understand its original context by tracing the claims, quotes, and media back to their sources. This is useful whether you're exploring a news source, scholarly article, or social media post. Use the following questions to guide your exploration:

Who first wrote about the topic?
When was it first published?

At this point, you may need to repeat steps I and F in order to evaluate a new information source.

Evaluating Websites

Countless web pages are available on just about every topic, but how can you know what's worthwhile or credible? Evaluation of web pages and websites has become a necessary part of the research process, and a means to sharpen your own critical thinking skills. Some of the fundamental questions to consider during evaluation are:

AUTHORSHIP Note that "author" can mean a person or organization.	Who is the author of the website? What are the author's credentials? Is the author an authority on the subject? Is it another student? A professor? Your next door neighbor? Is the author an organization? What do you know (or what can you find out) about this organization? What is its purpose?
ACCURACY Information must be judged accurate and verifiable before you use it in your own research or assignments	Is the site edited well? Are there spelling or grammatical errors? Is it written in a style that you would expect for the topic and audience? Don't accept the information at face value - you'll need to take time to consult other sources (including non-web sources) to verify accuracy fully Does the information on the site "fit" with other information that you have on the topic? Or are there discrepancies with other sources of information? Does the author provide a way to verify information on this site? Are footnotes, citations, or sources provided?
CURRENCY Look at both the date of publication and update, as well as the dates for any cited information.	Is the page or website being updated and maintained? When was the page written? Last updated or revised? How current is the information? Does this fit your needs? Note that website content written in May 2013 might contain information from 1975. Be aware that "Last updated" may mean any update on the page, including stylistic changes such as different colors or layout, or the addition or removal of a comma - not necessarily substantive changes to content.
CONTENT Does the information on the website meet your research or information needs?	How detailed is the information - is it basic or advanced? Is the coverage of the topic complete? Does it leave out important information? Does it offer more than one perspective? Is the web page part of a longer document? Sometimes you will need to look at more than one page to get the complete picture. Is there a bibliography or links to other information on the topic? How were the links selected? Are the other sources mentioned relevant and credible? How does the content compare with other resources (books, journal articles, other web pages) on the same topic?
PURPOSE The purpose of the site should be clear. Be aware that some sites present opinion as fact in order to sell or persuade.	Does this site present fact or opinion? What is the purpose of the site? To inform? To sell? To persuade? Is the site objective, showing multiple sides of an issue? Bias is not necessarily reason to reject a source - but be sure that you can identify it. Who is the intended audience? Advanced researchers in a field? Elementary school students? Members of a particular organization or viewpoint? If there is advertising on the page, does this affect the content?
DESIGN Visual layout, choice of images and media files often have an impact on a website's professional credibility.	What kind of information - textual, visual, aural - does the page present, and does this add or detract from the page's usefulness or legibility? Do image or other media files slow down load time or navigation through the website? Do the different design components work, or are images, sound files, etc. unable to display, play, or run? Does the web page require specific add-on software in order to read, see, print, or listen to resources linked on the page? Is that add-on software readily available or must it be purchased?