How to Evaluate the Credibility of Sources
1. Author credentials
- Is the author an expert/authority in the field
- Earned a degree in the field
- Has extensive experience in the field
- A knowledgeable amateur
- Limited knowledge of the topic, but has an opinion
2. Author bias
- Difficult to remove personal bias completely
- Academic discipline can add bias
- Psychologists use different tools than Sociologists so might get different results
- Liberal and conservative political scientists might interpret information differently
3. Quality of the publication
- Some academic journals are higher quality than others
- Does the source specialize in this topic or is the topic tangential to its focus
4. Is the article peer reviewed
- Peer reviewed papers have other experts review the research before publication
- Edited books have an editor who organizes and directs other authors
- Popular journals and newspapers have an editor who approves articles before publication
5. Type of publication
- The type of publication shapes the information presented
- A book is very different than a journal article
- A documentary is different than a motion picture
- A statistical table is different than presenting the information via written text
- McLuhan - the medium is the message
6. Date of publication
- The need for current information varies by academic discipline
- Sciences (e.g., biology, computer science) - information changes rapidly so usually need information from last 1-2 years
- Social Sciences (e.g., psychology, communications) - usually need information published in the last 10-20 years
- Humanities (e.g., literature, philosophy) - information changes slowly, even ancient texts like the works of Aristotle are still important
- Type of information
- Reports on an experiment might become outdated relatively fast
- Theoretical or philosophical texts might have a long life
7. Is the information verifiable?
- If you publish the results of an experiment, can others duplicate the results
- Are sources included in a bibliography used accurately
8. Evidence presented supports the conclusion(s)
- Does the evidence point one way but the conclusion goes in a different direction
- Does the conclusion raise issues not covered by the research
9. Line between fact and opinion is clear
- A peer reviewed journal might have essays, research articles, and book reviews
- Does a newspaper indicate if an article is reporting an event, an analysis, or is the article a commentary/opinion piece