As you search the Libraries catalog and databases
for sources relevant to your research,
you will encounter a wide range of materials that may be of interest to you.
Even if a source quickly speaks to your topic,
you will first need to evaluate its origins,
its reliability and accuracy,
and the particular perspective it brings to your topic,
before you can incorporate it into your research.
In this video, we will identify key questions that you can ask of a source
to make these judgements
which in turn will help you produce an effectively researched paper or project.
When we evaluate a source, we are judging whether the information it contains is credible
and whether its particular perspective is useful in addressing our research question.
Whether we realize it or not, all of us already evaluate the credibility
and value of information in our daily lives.
Think about the last time you made a major purchase.
Maybe for a new mobile device or a new set of headphones.
Your probably sought out recent reviews from other buyers or technology websites,
checked out the official websites of the brands you were interested in,
or reached out to friends or family who recently made a similar purchase.
As you compared your options,
you didn't treat every one of these information sources equally.
Instead, you took into account the information's origins,
recognizing that an anonymous review online
may not be as reliable as a formal review published in a magazine
and you weighed these distinctions as you made your final decision.
We carry out a similar process when selecting information sources for our research.
Not all printed or published material is accurate
or contributes a valuable perspective.
It is up to you, the researcher, to cast a discerning eye, as you make these
evaluative judgements for yourself.
Although the number of questions you could ask of a source are limitless and should
depend on the context of the research assignment,
there are three broad and sometimes overlapping
themes that you will want to consider
as you evaluate a source.
Authority,
accuracy,
and objectivity and perspective.
Evaluating the authority of a source involves considering the origin
of the information source,
such as its author,
and their relationship to the subject being addressed and the information contained
in the source itself.
You may ask yourself,
Who is the author or creator?
This may not always be a single person.
In some cases, such as a government report,
the creator may be an organization or an institution.
Does the creator possess expertise or special knowledge in this area?
What are their credentials? What is their occupation?
Is the source sponsored or endorsed by an institution or an organization?
If so,
what type of organization is involved? And what is the nature of its relationship
to the creator of the source and its information?
Who is the publisher of the source?
Do they publish often in this area?
What type of review process, if any, do they use when publishing an item?
These questions help us determine a source's credibility and the particular expertise and
and background of the author.
Does the author or creator have the requisite knowledge to make the arguments or
recommendations presented in the source?
These questions also begin to give us a sense of the source's character
and the conditions of which it was created.
Given what we can learn about the author or creator,
can readers trust that they are authoritative regarding the subject discussed in the source?
Or, is there potential bias based on what we can learn about the subject of the source?
Although we often see credentials and institutional associations as signs of
authority and expertise,
it is important to remember that authority comes in many forms and depends on both
the context of the sources creation
and how we might be using it in our research.
A testimonial or oral history from a person with first-hand knowledge of an event,
for instance,
may offer an authoritative perspective
that other sources do not.
In fact, depending on the subject of one's research,
an overreliance on traditional forms of expertise and authority
may result in an unbalanced paper that fails to include important voices that are
often marginalized by institutional structures and practices.
In doing research it is important to be open to different perspectives and new voices.
As you search for and examine different sources,
it may be helpful to list some of the perspectives
that will best support a well-rounded analysis of your subject
and to consider a particular source's authority
in the context of that list.
Evaluating the accuracy of a source involves considering the validity
and the completeness of the information it presents.
This may include questions such as
Is the information accurate?
How does it compare with other sources on the subject?
Do you find consensus between sources?
Is the information complete?
Does it provide enough evidence to support its claim or position?
Does the source include citations for facts it presents or claims it makes?
What types of materials are being cited?
Is the information that it presents timely and up to date?
Are the conclusions reached by the source appropriate
based on the information presented?
But how can you assess the accuracy of a source if you are not an expert on the subject?
Remember, research rarely relies on a single source's understanding a subject.
Part of your task as a researcher is to use multiple sources and determine the
relationships between them
to reach a fuller understanding of your topic.
Examining multiple sources in relation to one another will help
you better understand each source's strengths and weaknesses
and the validity of their information.
Evaluating a source's objectivity and perspective involves
critically analyzing how the information is presented,
the purpose of the source, and how its perspective may shape
the information it contains.
This may include questions such as
does the source present a balanced view of the different perspectives of the topic?
Is the bias or perspective of the author or creator obvious?
How might that impact the information contained in the source?
Is the source trying to convince you of a point of view?
What is the intent of the source as it is published?
Who is its audience?
Is the publication in which the item appears
published, sponsored, or endorsed by a political or other special interest group?
As the researcher, you will determine how the objectivity of a source
impacts its value to your unique research endeavor.
This is challenging since every information source inherently contains a perspective
and reflects the particular place and time it originated from
or the particular reason it was created.
Even if a source contains an overt perspective,
this does not immediately invalidate its usefulness,
nor does it undermine the validity of its content or claims.
It is up to you to analyze your sources and then make an executive decision
about the value and possible liabilities that perspective entails
for your own research.
There is no magic formula for determining whether a source it right for your research.
As a researcher, you get to play the role of both the detective and the judge,
as you evaluate the details of a source's authority,
accuracy, and objectivity
to arrive at a clearer understanding of the item as an information source.
Then you get to make a judgement based on that understanding
about how to use your sources in critical and responsible ways.
In the next video, we will discuss a category of information sources known as
scholarly literature
and examine the characteristics that make scholarly literature an
important component of original research.
For additional help evaluating a source for a research project,
please visit the Purdue Libraries Ask a Librarian page
at lib.purdue.edu/help/askalib.