The sources you use are an important component of your research. It\u2019s important to evaluate the sources you\u2019re considering using, in order to:<\/p>\n
You should have a clear idea of your own research question<\/a> or topic and think critically<\/a> when evaluating sources.<\/p>\n Evaluating the credibility of a source is an important way of sifting out misinformation and determining whether you should use it in your research. Useful approaches include the CRAAP test<\/a> and lateral reading<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the best ways to evaluate source credibility is the CRAAP test<\/a>. This stands for:<\/p>\n How you evaluate a source using these criteria will depend on your subject and focus. It\u2019s important to understand the types of sources<\/a> and how you should use them in your field of research.<\/p>\n Lateral reading is the act of evaluating the credibility of a source by comparing it to other sources. This allows you to:<\/p>\n If a source is using methods or drawing conclusions<\/a> that are incompatible with other research in its field, it may not be reliable.<\/p>\n Rather than taking these figures at face value, you decide to determine the accuracy of the source\u2019s claims by cross-checking them with official statistics such as census reports and figures compiled by the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Office of Immigration Statistics.<\/p>\n This way, you can assess whether the source is representing the data accurately, or cherry-picking to give a misleading picture of the situation.<\/figure>\n How you evaluate the relevance of a source will depend on your topic, and on where you are in the research process<\/a>. Preliminary evaluation<\/a> helps you to pick out relevant sources in your search, while in-depth evaluation<\/a> allows you to understand how they\u2019re related.<\/p>\n As you cannot possibly read every source related to your topic, you can use preliminary evaluation to determine which sources might be relevant. This is especially important when you’re surveying a large number of sources (e.g., in a literature review<\/a> or systematic review<\/a>).<\/p>\n One way to do this is to look at paratextual material, or the parts of a work other than the text itself.<\/p>\n You can also read abstracts<\/a>, prefaces, introductions<\/a>, and conclusions<\/a>. These will give you a clear idea of the author\u2019s intentions, the parameters of the research, and even the conclusions they draw.<\/p>\n Preliminary evaluation is useful as it allows you to:<\/p>\n While this preliminary evaluation is an important step in the research process, you should engage with sources more deeply in order to adequately understand them.<\/p>\n Begin your in-depth evaluation with any landmark studies in your field of research, or with sources that you\u2019re sure are related to your research topic.<\/p>\n As you read, try to understand the connections between the sources. Look for:<\/p>\n Even sources whose conclusions you disagree with can be relevant, as they can strengthen your argument by offering alternative perspectives.<\/p>\n Every source should contribute to the debate about its topic by taking a clear position. This position and the conclusions the author comes to should be supported by evidence from direct observation or from other sources.<\/p>\n Most sources will use a mix of primary and secondary sources<\/a> to form an argument<\/a>. It is important to consider how <\/strong>the author uses these sources. A good argument should be based on analysis and critique, and there should be a logical relationship between evidence and conclusions.<\/p>\n To assess an argument\u2019s strengths and weaknesses, ask:<\/p>\n Situating a source in relation to other sources (lateral reading<\/a>) can help you determine whether the author\u2019s arguments and conclusions are reliable and how you will respond to them in your own writing.<\/p>\n As you cannot possibly read every source related to your topic, it’s important to evaluate sources<\/a> to assess their relevance. Use preliminary evaluation to determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth.<\/p>\n This involves:<\/p>\n Lateral reading is the act of evaluating the credibility<\/a> of a source by comparing it with other sources. This allows you to:<\/p>\n A credible source<\/a> should pass the CRAAP test<\/a>\u00a0and follow these guidelines:<\/p>\n The CRAAP test<\/a> is an acronym to help you evaluate the credibility<\/a> of a source you are considering using. It is an important component of information literacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The CRAAP test has five main components:<\/p>\n Scholarly sources <\/strong><\/a>are written by experts in their field and are typically subjected to peer review<\/a>. They are intended for a scholarly audience, include a full bibliography, and use scholarly or technical language. For these reasons, they are typically considered credible sources<\/a>.<\/p>\n Popular sources <\/strong>like magazines and news articles are typically written by journalists. These types of sources<\/a> usually don\u2019t include a bibliography and are written for a popular, rather than academic, audience. They are not always reliable and may be written from a biased or uninformed perspective, but they can still be cited<\/a> in some contexts.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n <\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The sources you use are an important component of your research. It\u2019s important to evaluate the sources you\u2019re considering using, in order to: Ensure that they\u2019re credible Determine whether they\u2019re relevant to your topic Assess the quality of their arguments You should have a clear idea of your own research question or topic and think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[50208],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"Evaluating a source\u2019s credibility<\/h2>\n
CRAAP test<\/h3>\n
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Lateral reading<\/h3>\n
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Evaluating a source\u2019s relevance<\/h2>\n
Preliminary evaluation<\/h3>\n
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In-depth evaluation<\/h3>\n
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Evaluating a source\u2019s arguments<\/h2>\n
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Frequently asked questions about evaluating sources<\/h2>\n
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