When doing college-level research, all source materials must be evaluated to decide if they are reliable, authoritative, and substantial enough to use as a foundation for your own writing.
Remember, at one time, everyone knew the world was flat and scholars and statesmen agreed that this information was correct. The same is true for much scholarship that supported slavery and other racist institutions. Always question: Who is doing the writing? Who is supporting the research? Does this make sense based on my other knowledge? Is this compatible with other sources I trust? Can I confirm this information using other sources? Some people rely on the CRAP test.
Evaluating Research Sources–Presentation slides
texts generally trusted by other scholars
- articles from scholarly journals
- articles from popular magazines offering in-depth research and discussion (see examples from, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly)
- extended interviews in print, or, as audio or video
- serious essays from college-level anthologies
- books published by an academic press
- a single chapter or article from a scholarly book or collection
- a popular book on the topic that demonstrates in-depth research and discussion
- documentaries produced or distributed by educational and public service organizations like PBS, BBC, museums, and universities
- websites developed and maintained by educational and public service organizations like PBS, BBC, museums, and universities
texts to start or supplement research (don’t use as a main source)
- articles from encyclopedias (including Wikipedia)
- brief articles from newspapers
- articles from popular magazines with a general reporting format (e.g., Time, Newsweek, People)
- a self-help book or how-to manual
- nonexpert websites or blogs
Use these guidelines as a starting point, but each source should be evaluated on its own merits and there are always exceptions. As you proceed with your research projects, consider the following:
Who made the source and where does it come from?
Is there a name on the source? Is the author an expert? How can you tell? Is the source produced or endorsed by an institution you can trust like a university or a non-profit educational or public service organization? Is there a political slant or some other agenda?
What if you find a source that seems to have good information, but you’re not sure you can rely on it?
The short answer: Use it to help you find more reliable sources.
The long answer: There is a great deal of information, especially online, that can be very helpful for directing our research, but which we might not be able to use as foundational source material. Some articles on Wikipedia, for instance, provide excellent, in-depth information on a subject with lots of quotations and scholarly citations. Because anyone can contribute to Wikipedia, however, information at that site should always be confirmed independently. Never use Wikipedia or other popular online information hubs as primary sources for your college research. Likewise, many independent scholars post their research online on private websites and blogs (see one example here). Like Wikipedia, such sites can be a great starting place to find out more about your subject, but always make sure your research quotes from and cites sources produced by qualified experts and approved by trusted institutions like a university, a scholarly press, or a widely respected non-profit educational group like PBS or a museum.
