Evaluating Sources Guide

When using any information sources (such as websites, news articles, books, journals, etc.) in a research assignment, you’ll want to ensure that you’re using credible, accurate sources that are appropriate for your project. This guide to evaluating sources will help you determine the best sources for your research need. Use the criteria below to help guide your source selection.

For help finding format-specific sources see these additional Libraries guides: Articles, Books, News and Newspaper Sources.

• Check your sources for a publication date. For websites, look for a copyright date on the homepage, and check when the page was last updated. 
• If you are researching a topic that is currently in the news or undergoing rapid change, you may want only the most recent information. If you are researching a historical event, you may want information written at the time of the event in addition to analyses published later.

• Determine the author or creator of the source and look for the author’s credentials, such as an advanced degree in the subject area. Try looking up the author in a search engine to see if you can find out more information on the author’s reputation. 
• If the author/creator is an organization consider the organization's overall reputation. Keep in mind that the information provided on a website’s “About” page is provided by the organization itself and is not necessarily vetted in any way. Try looking up the organization in a search engine to see what others have said about them. 
• Look for evidence that the source has been reviewed by editors or by other experts.  
• Keep in mind that a website’s domain name (.com, .edu, .gov, .org) is not necessarily an indication of trustworthiness. Websites with .org in the URL are not necessarily non-profits with tax-exempt status and may not have been reviewed or vetted in any way. Websites with .edu in the URL could be affiliated with any educational institution (such as K-12 schools), not just colleges and universities.

• Check if the information can be verified or supported by other sources. Try fact-checking by looking for other sources on the same topic to see if the claims can be verified in at least two other sources. 
• Look for references to other reputable sources that support the author’s claims. Scholarly sources will include a list of references to other scholarship, while news sources may include quotes from interviews with experts. 
• If there are links to outside sources, make sure they lead to content that actually supports the claims made in the original. 
• For help with evaluating news media for accuracy, see the Libraries guide to News Literacy.

• Identify the audience for your sources. The audience may be the general public, other experts and scholars, or practitioners in the field. 
• Consider the audience for your own research. If your audience is the general public, you may want to look for popular sources like newspaper or magazine articles that don’t have a lot of technical vocabulary or jargon. 
• If you are writing for an audience of experts, consider more scholarly sources like academic journals that are written for an audience familiar with the vocabulary and jargon used in the field. 

• Consider the purpose of the source. The purpose could be to sell a product, provide entertainment, report on an evolving news story, or share scholarly research. 
• If the purpose is purely commercial or for entertainment value, consider sources that provide more in-depth analysis such as newspapers or scholarly journals. 
• Look for sources that represent multiple points of view. If the purpose of a source seems to be to persuade the reader to adopt a particular viewpoint, look for sources that represent other viewpoints as well. 
• Be aware that some sources are opinion rather than fact-based. Check to see if opinions are backed up with references to credible sources. If you're not sure if a source is overly biased, try to find what other kind of projects, research, or partnerships they highlight, or who their parent company is.
• Consider your own point of view on a topic, and look for sources that also represent opposing views.