How to Evaluate Sources of

Information: a Guide

Mr. Burmesters ELA Classes, 2016

Primary &
Secondary
Information
Sources

GALE

& Print

Question
Q.) How can you tell if a Source is going to be RELIABLE?
A.) By using Research and Evidence!
You can ask the following Questions to determine if the source is
CREDIBLE (synonyms: believable, convincing, plausible):
1. Who is the Author?
2. How recent is the source?
3. What is the authors purpose?
4. What type of sources does your audience value?
* Caution: Be careful when evaluating Internet sources!!

2 Types of Sources: 1.) PRIMARY SOURCES

What are Primary Sources?

Original or first hand materials

First person account (eye witness) of an event
Original Research (surveys, studies, case-studies, interviews)
Works by an Original Author (essays, poems, plays, artwork,

novels, autobiographies, speeches, emails, author blogs of self)

Historical or legal documents
Statistical data and Results of an experiment
Photographs,.Can you think of any others?

2 Types of Sources: 2.) SECONDARY SOURCES

What are Secondary Sources?
Secondhand accounts, information, reports or accounts of primary sources written
or delivered by people who were NOT direct participants in the events or issues
being examined: (Note of Interest: a Library is built around secondary sources)
Examples:
1. News Articles
2. Reviews
3. Biographies
*Variety of Formats!

4. Documentaries
5. Encyclopedia entries
6. Interpretations of works

Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

Often more accurate because they have not been distorted

Not always a better choice than secondary sources
May be biased/limited in perspective
May be difficult to access
May not always be appropriate for all research topics

Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources

Secondary Sources
May be biased, inaccurate, or incomplete because they are
interpretations of events or other works
The person who created the text doesnt have direct, first-hand
experience with the topic
Easier to find and access
There are tons of secondary sources
May be more suitable for certain topics

Conducting Research
Print Sources
* Books
-Novels
-Collections of shorter works (narratives, plays, poems, etc.)
-Reference Books
+Books with editors
+Books by organizations
+Handbooks & Manuals
*Journals
*Newspapers
*Magazines
*Other documents: Pamphlets, Hand-outs, Class Notes, Brochures, etc.

Conducting Research
Non-Print Sources (Electronic)
Library Databases (some examples):
-Gale
-Ebsco Host
-Academic Source Complete
-JSTOR
-LexisNexis
The Web
Note: There are often electronic copies of print materials.
If there is a PDF file available, it is helpful to view the PDF version
to view page numbers of articles.

Conducting Research
Websites

Government (local, state, & National levels)

News
Organizations
Blogs, News groups, Listservs, etc.

Note: It is helpful to look at the end of the URL (the domain or file
extension), specifically the domain of a website when determining what kind
of website you are looking at and how credible it is.

Conducting Research
Websites
5 Factors to Evaluating Websites:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Authority
Currency/timely
Content/Purpose
Audience
Structure

How Reliable?

Breakdown of the URL

Internet Protocol http - Protocol used in the communication between the

browser and the web server.
Domain Name- where the web server belongs. Domain is like an address by which
you can get to some specific 'area' on the Net.
URL Host Name - is actually the name of the web server seen over the Internet. In
other words, it's the server that hosts the web site
URL Path usually indicates a specific file or directory found on a server

Common Domain Extensions

.com
- a commercial website (typically companies or profitable
organizations)

.net
-network; Internet Service Providers use this URL ending; takes
you to an individual website or file

.gov
-Government

Organizations have this URL ending

Other Common Domain Extensions: .org, (countries) .us, .jp, .uk., .fr, .ca

Conducting Research
Original Research (Primary Sources)
(collect data to answer a Research Question(s) & derive a conclusion based on your
results).
Interviews
Ask - Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How questions (NOT Yes/No
questions); Take Notes or Record Interview (DONT FORGET TO ASK
PERMISSION to record or film!!!).
Surveys
Who will you survey? How many people?
**Tips: Larger groups yield more accurate/credible responses in surveys.
You can use Open Ended Questions or Multiple Choice Format.

Evaluating Content
Quality

It is extremely important to evaluate the quality of the sources you

use!

Hard and Fast Rule to Remember: The Quality of your writing is only
as good as the quality of the sources you use!!!
Evaluate the sources themselves
Evaluate the content of those sources

Evaluating Sources
Overview of Things to Look for:

Publication Information
Authorship & Affiliations
Author Qualifications
Source
Audience
Bias
Timeliness
Relevance
Objectivity

Fairness
Credibility
Comprehensiveness
Accuracy
Quality

Considerations When Evaluating Sources

Publication Process

Has the source been reviewed or edited by others?

Is the source complete?
Is the source outdated?
Publication information can you find it on the source?? (author, editor,
date written/uploaded/updated, etc.?

Considerations

When Evaluating a Source

Ask Yourself:
Are external sources referenced or cited?
Who is the intended audience of the source?
Is that audience appropriate for your purposes?

Considerations
Bias
Ask Yourself:
1. Is there any possibility for bias?
2. Are there any underlying agendas?
3. What information was not considered or included in the source?

Evaluating Content
You should do

MORE than just evaluate the source!

You should evaluate the content within that source

too!
Look for:
AccuracyFairnessObjectivityRelevanceTimeliness

Evaluating Content
Accuracy
Ask yourself:
1.
2.
3.
4.

How do you know the facts are accurate?

Do the facts match with other material you have read on the topic?
How was the data collected?
Where there any flaws you noticed in how the data/information was collected?

EVALUATE YOUR SOURCES!!!!!!!

Evaluating Content
Comprehensiveness
Ask Yourself:
1. How thoroughly was the topic covered?
2. Was one aspect of the topic covered more than other aspects?
3. Was the topic considered from multiple perspectives?

Evaluating Content
Credibility
Ask Yourself:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Is the source material reliable or credible?

Has the source been reviewed and/or facts checked?
Is the author an expert/authority?
What are the authors credentials?

Evaluating Content
Fairness
Ask yourself:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Does the author take a particular stance on the topic/issue?

Are differing perspectives offered?
How are the different perspectives presented?
Are any perspectives not included that possibly should have been?

Evaluating Content

Objectivity
Ask Yourself:
1. What language does the author use? Objective?? Emotional??
2. What other perspectives are offered?
3. How are those perspectives presented?

Evaluating Content
Relevance
Ask Yourself:
1. How closely is the source related to your topic? Directly related??
Slightly related??
2. How much emphasis will you give it in your essay?
Note: Directly related sources should be given more weight in your essay
than less related ones.

Evaluating Content
Timeliness
Ask yourself:
1. Is the information current?
2. How necessary is timeliness to your topic? (Example: historical topic,
comparisons of relationships between 2 things that include recent and
dated material)

Helpful Resources
Identifying an Authoritative Website
http://www.library.Illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/webeval.html
Purdue OWL Evaluating Sources
http://owl.English.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/1/
Cornell University Library: Evaluating Sources
http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/evaluate.html
Helpful Resources by Areas of Study
http://www.otc.edu/library/1649.php