Many people have personal websites, such as blogs, that are not associated with a larger group or organization. Citing information from an unreliable source makes academic audiences wary of your entire argument because it is based on information held to a lower level of integrity. Often, the most reliable information you will find on the internet will come from online databases. Students are always told, Never use Wikipedia. Thats true you should never cite Wikipedia for multiple reasons: its written anonymously, so you cant know the credibility of the author, and its continually updated, so its not a stable source. Copyright 2022 by The On-Campus Writing Lab& The OWL at Purdueand Purdue University. You should search for additional texts on the topic to find related sources, sources in which this source is cited, and sources that cite this source in order to get a stronger picture of its intellectual relevance and value. Its important to understand the types of sources and how you should use them in your field of research. Consider your audience and compare with a variety of sources. If the author lists specific dates or facts, can you find that same information somewhere else? Common evaluation criteria include: purpose and intended audience, authority and credibility, accuracy and reliability, currency and timeliness, and objectivity or bias. It can be very unclear (often by design!) Below are some suggestions for evaluating digital texts and a breakdown of the different types of sources available online. The test focuses on five key aspects that can indicate the quality of a source and includes questions to ask of a source to evaluate its quality. 3. To ensure you include only valid information in your research, evaluate your sources using the criteria below. Both National Geographicand TEDuse .com domain extension, despite the fact that theyre large organizations. Podcasts are becoming a much more popular digital medium today. Search engine optimization (often abbreviated SEO) is a strategy used to increase unpaid views on a website from search engines. Evaluating sources In order to persuade your reader of your position, your writing needs to incorporate evidence and sources. How do you evaluate the credibility of a source? Authority. Is the author an expert in their field? The reliability (source, evidence, truthfulness) of the information. Secondary sources are articles that help people to understand their research topics. Sometimes, citing a scholar who goes against the tide of established thinking provides you with ammunition for a compelling devils advocate argument. For example, as recently as the 1960s, most scholarly linguists believed African American Vernacular English to be a deficient, broken form of standard American English reflective of African Americans lack of cognitive abilities. However, the veracity and reliability of online news sources can vary enormouslybe sure to pay careful attention to authority here. The Purdue OWL is clearly the only safe choice for student writers. For example, Hoosier State Chronicles is a database that only houses Indiana newspapers, while JSTOR is a database that holds a wider variety of journals and books. Government-affiliated websites end in .gov. It is written by a trustworthy author or organization. 2015. If you are researching for an academic paper, then you need to have very credible,. Last modified on Friday, August 12, 2008 A panel of reviewers in the same subject area decide whether a submission should be accepted for publication based on a set of criteria. Beware of grandiose claims, and critically analyze anything not cited or backed up by evidence. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Evaluation of a source's credibility is a complex process that requires critical thinking and reading. For tips on getting a second opinion and evaluating non-academic sources, read on! For preliminary research and getting to know a new topic, you could use a combination of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. How does the website look and feel? Credible sources are published in peer-reviewed journals, scholarly books with lists of references, or .gov websites. There are many different types of sources, which can be divided into three categories: primary sources, secondary sources, and tertiary sources. The last example above uses facts in a bad-faith way to take advantage of the audience's fear. June 2, 2022 How can I tell which sources are relevant to my research? Because so much information is now available online, its important to know how to navigate digital sources versus print sources. There are several factors that contribute to a source's credibility. Evaluating the credibility of a source is an important way of sifting out misinformation and determining whether you should use it in your research. Authority. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/ae\/Evaluate-the-Credibility-of-a-Source-Step-9-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Evaluate-the-Credibility-of-a-Source-Step-9-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/ae\/Evaluate-the-Credibility-of-a-Source-Step-9-Version-2.jpg\/aid368290-v4-728px-Evaluate-the-Credibility-of-a-Source-Step-9-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"