This document discusses how to evaluate sources for reliability when conducting research. It identifies several factors to consider, including usefulness, credibility, bias, currency, reliability, authority, purpose/point of view, and potential red flags. Specifically, it advises evaluating an author's credentials, date of publication, accuracy/corroboration, presence of bias or conflicts of interest, as well as cues from URLs, when assessing source credibility. Choosing sources directly relevant to your topic and purpose is also important.

1. Evaluating the
Reliability of Sources

2. Essential question
What do you need
to evaluate when
choosing sources
for their research
projects?

3. Secondary Sources
Evaluation of these sources
is essential
Credibility of authorship,
authenticity, accuracy, and
bias may be an issue

4. Evaluating the source
Usefulness
Credibility
Bias

5. Usefulness
 Your purpose: What will this source add to
your research project? Will it help support a
major point, demonstrate you have
researched thoroughly, or help establish your
own credibility as a conscientious researcher?

6. Is It CRAP?
 Currency
 How recent is the
information?
 How recently has the website
been updated?
 Is it current enough for your
topic?
 Reliability
 What kind of information is
included in the resource?
 Is content of the resource
primarily opinion? Is is
balanced?
 Does the creator provide
references or sources for data
 Authority
 Who is the creator or author?
 What are the credentials?
 Who is the published or sponsor?
 Are they reputable?
 What is the publisher’s interest (if
any) in this information?
 Are there advertisements on the
website?
 Purpose/Point of View
 Is this fact or opinion?
 the creator/author trying to sell you
something?
 Is it biased?

7. Usefulness
 Relevance: Is the source relevant
to your project, or are you simply
listing sources to meet a quota?

8. Usefulness
 Level of specialization: General sources can be
helpful when you are beginning your research, but
you may need more specialized or more current
resources.
Ask yourself,
 Who was this source written for?
 A general audience?
 A more specialized group?”
 How does this resource fit with your audience and
purpose.

9. Credibility
 Credentials of the publisher or sponsor:
 What can you learn about the newspaper or
sponsor of the source? For example, is it a
newspaper known for integrity or is it a
tabloid? Is it a popular source, or is it
sponsored by a professional organization or
academic institution? Is the book published
by a company you recognize or can locate
easily on the web?

10. Credibility
 Credentials of the author:
 An author’s credentials often are included on
the back cover or flap covers of the book.
When researching, does the author’s name
come up in other sources? He may be
influential in his field

11. Credibility
Date of the publication:
Recent publication dates may be
more useful in the sciences or
other fields where change is
frequent and current information is
essential.

12. Credibility
 Accuracy of the source:
 Can you locate other sources that corroborate
this source? In other words, can you find other
sources that have similar information or support
parts of what you find in this source?

13. Credibility
 Cross-references to the source:
 Is the source cited in other works? If you see the
source cited other places, notice what another
author says about the source. Another’s
comments may give you insight into the
credibility.

14. Bias
 Stance of the source:
It’s important to identify the source’s point of view (bias). Would the
author have a reason to slant the information? Leave out essential
facts or details? Identifying the source is the first step toward
evaluating whether the source’s bias would be a concern. For
instance, would the source be trying to convince you of an idea?
Sell something? Call you to action? Do any of those purposes call
the information in the source into question?

15. What is bias?
According to Webster's Dictionary online:
Bias is defined as:
 an inclination of temperament or outlook;
especially: a personal and sometimes
unreasoned judgment: PREJUDICE

16. Looking for bias
In Politics
Radio Talk Show Host
 Example: Proclaimed conservative radio
personality uses his talk show to promote his
political party's platform beliefs

17. Looking for bias
In SELF-PROMOTERS Authors of books, websites,
or various written works promote their works
for self-gratification.
 Example: Toyota Today Magazine rating its
Toyota cars as the best in its class based on
some specifications outlined by them.

18. Looking for bias
In FINANCE: A individual or company
creates website to advertise a product
or service.
 Example: Receiving Saving Tips from a
website designed and maintained by
Siam Commercial Bank.

19. Looking for bias
From SPONSORS: An individual or company
supports a website with the intention of
gaining exposure.
 Example: Gaining interview and resume
writing tips from a website sponsored by
Kelly and Manpower Temporary
Services.com

20. Red Flags for
source credibility
 Anonymity – no author or sponsoring entity
 Negative reviews by other sources
 Misspelled words and poor grammar
 Vague or sweeping generalizations
 One-sided viewpoint that does not address
an opposing side

21. Red Flags
 Extreme tone or language ("stupid jerks," "shrill cries of my
extremist opponents")
 Overstatement ("Thousands of children are murdered
every day in the United States.")
 Sweeping statements of excessive significance ("This is the
most important idea ever conceived!")
 Conflict of Interest ("Welcome to the Old Stogie Tobacco
Company Home Page. To read our report, 'Cigarettes
Make You Live Longer,' click here." or "The products our
competitors make are dangerous and bad for your
health.")

22. Red Flags
 Numbers or statistics presented without an
identified source for them
 Absence of source documentation when the
discussion clearly needs such documentation
 You cannot find any other sources that present
the same information or acknowledge that the
same information exists (lack of corroboration)

23. Cues from URLs
edu = educational institution http://docsouth.unc.edu.
gov = US government site http://memory.loc.gov.
org = organization or association http://www.theaha.org.
com = commercial site http://www.historychannel.com.
museum = museum http://nc.history.museum.
net = personal or other site http://www.californiahistory.net

24. Choosing a resource
 Your topic is toxic rain and its effect on automobile paint. Would
you be more likely to find relevant information in:
A. A brochure advertising Ford’s newest “Green” models
B. A National Geographic article on changing weather patterns
C. A study conducted by BMW on exterior paint for cars
D. ICAR research on automobile safety in hurricane force wind and rain

25. Answer:
 The correct answer is C because it
specifically refers to automobile exterior
paint.
 All of the other sources listed do not refer to
automobile paint. They may deal with rain – but
nothing indicates they refer to acid rain. Therefore,
they may not be useful.

26. Which website?
For a research paper on the history of the sport of lacrosse, which website will be the most
relevant and reliable?
A. www.lacrosse.com (home page of the Great Atlantic Lacrosse Company, which
sells lacrosse equipment)
B. www.lacrosse.org (home page of US Lacrosse, the governing body over men and
women’s lacrosse teams in the US)
C. www.lacrosseuniversity.com (website of Lacrosse University in Bay St. Louis, MS)
D. www.warriorlacrosse.com (website of manufacturer of lacrosse equipment

27. Answer
The correct answer is B. Option A and D both represent retail
companies who sell sporting equipment. Their websites would
be unlikely to have much information about the history of the
sport. Option C is a link to a university. Option B is a link to an
organization that oversees the development and rules of the
sport, thus they would be more likely to have information about
the history of the sport.

28. Assess the source
Rank each of these websites from 1(low) to 4
(high) according to how reliable and
accurate you think they would be:
1. The most recent U.S. Department of Labor
statistics on unemployment
2. Twelfth-grader’s blog on the history of silent
films
3. Wikipedia article about a controversial
political issue
4. An editorial about Abraham Lincoln from
the New York Times, January 1862

29. Support your ranking
Explain your reasons for
ranking each website to a
partner.
Did you and your partner
agree on the rankings?

30. Sources
Harris, Robert. “Evaluating Internet Sources.” Virtual Salt. June 15,
2007. January 12, 2010. http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm.
Web.
Lunsford, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer: Fourth Edition. Boston:
Bedford- St. Martin’s Press, 2009. 170-171. Print