EVALUATING SOURCES
THE GOOD
THE BAD
THE UGLY
HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS
WORKSHOP
This workshop is an introduction to evaluating sources. It
includes only basic techniques used when considering
which sources are reliable and which are not.
Read and understand each slide before moving on to the
next one.
Complete the 10 activities and hand all in to your instructor.
This workshop is worth 2 GPAW hours.
WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO EVALUATE
SOURCES?
The Internet is a mish-mash of everything on earth:
articles, publications, conversations, commercial
ventures, and more. Some sites are helpful, some are
humorous, and some are harmful. It’s the Internet user’s
responsibility to interact carefully and critically with this
information. This is especially true for serious research.
Which sources should we evaluate?
Rule of thumb: Evaluate all sources.
1. Print sources (magazines, journals, newspapers, books, etc. . . ).
2. Library subscription sources (Infotrac, Wilson Select, etc. . . ).
3. Internet sources (Websites, online newspapers, commercial sites, etc …).
4. Interview sources (first hand interviews, television interviews, etc. . . ).
TO KNOW IF A SOURCE IS SOLID, WE MUST DIG DEEPLY.
LET’S CONSIDER HOW TO EVALUATE
SOURCES BY ASKING QUESTIONS:
1. WHERE DID YOU FIND THE SOURCE?
2. WHO IS THE AUTHOR?
3. WHEN WAS ITEM PUBLISHED/POSTED?
4. HOW RELIABLE IS THE INFORMATION?
WHERE
Consider where you are getting information.
Research includes printed matter, interviews,
and online materials. With the Internet so
accessible to us, we practically have all the
information in the world at our reach. Some of it
is good, and some is bad.
REMEMBER, because it is on the Web DOES
NOT mean it is solid, truthful, or reliable
information.
SOURCES
WHAT DOES YOUR TEXTBOOK SAY?
ACTIVITY #1:
Turn to page 576 in your Writing: A
Guide for College and Beyond.
Answer these questions:
1. What is the danger of using search engines to find
research material?
2. How can you evaluate the credibility of a site?
3. What does your textbook say about “Other Internet
sources”?
SOURCE
Many sources on the Internet are written by people
who are not experts in the topic, who have not
consulted solid research, and who have a
personal agenda driving their text.
In academic research, such as you are doing, you
will want to use scholarly research and journals.
These are the most reliable.
SOURCE:
Let's look at periodicals.
There are four major types of periodicals,
and each one has a targeted
audience,
purpose,
and style.
SOURCE:
Pay close attention to the scholarly:
1. SCHOLARLY: (Journal of Medicine, Journal of Nursing, Journal of Historical Review, College English)
Author: Scholar in field -- Peer Reviewed
References: Always cite sources
Purpose: To Educate
2. GENERAL INTEREST: (National Geographic, New York Times, Fortune )
Author: Editor , Staff, or free-lance writer
References: Sometimes cite sources
Purpose: To inform
3. POPULAR MAGAZINE: ( People, Reader’s Digest, Jet, Source, Time, Seventeen)
Author: Editor, Staff, free-lance writer
References: Almost never cite sources
Purpose: To entertain, to inform about popular culture, to sell magazine
4. Tabloid Magazine: (Star, National Enquirer, The Sun)
Author: Staff, free-lance writer
References: Never cite sources
Purpose: To entertain, to sell magazines
SOURCE:
In academic writing, we will want to use
scholarly texts because these cite their
sources, are written by people who are
experts in their fields, and are reviewed or
edited by other experts in the field.
SCHOLARLY: (Journal of Medicine, Journal of Nursing, Journal of Historical
Review, College English)
Author: Scholar in field -- Peer Reviewed
References: Always cite sources
Purpose: To Educate
PEER REVIEWED/SCHOLARLY
Peer reviewed (or Reviewed Journal) is an
important phrase to remember when doing
serious research. Several experts who did not
know the author of the piece read the article.
This “blind reading” helps build credibility; the
article is printed because of its accuracy,
research, and reliability.
A cardiologist will review an article about heart problems.
A literature professor will review an article about Shakespeare.
An American history specialist will review an article about Lincoln.
SOURCE:
We also use periodicals that are considered
General Interest.
Remember: These are not peer reviewed, so they are
less credible than Scholarly sources. This does not
mean that we cannot use them; rather, we will pick and
choose these with a critical eye.
GENERAL INTEREST: (National Geographic, New York Times )
Author: Editor , Staff, or free-lance writer
References: Sometimes cite sources
Purpose: To inform
SOURCES:
Where do we find Scholarly or General
Interest sources?
These are right at the fingertips of the
student scholar. Many colleges purchase
databases, such as Info trac, First Search,
and Lexus-Nexus, to give students access
to important sources.
ACTIVITY #2
For the next activity, practice accessing sources
from our library database. The next two slides
will help you access a general interest article
and a scholarly article.
Go through the stages for both, and print these
articles. You will need a hard copy to use when
completing other activities in this GPAW.
SOURCES:
Let’s Practice: Activity #2
Follow the below directions to access a practice article:
1. Go to JCC website.
2. Click the “Quick Links” tab and choose “library”.
3. Choose the “Research Databases” selection.
4. Choose “Wilson Select” option.
5. Type in “Afraid of the Bird Flu? The Worse Virus is Fear”.
6. Click “Keyword” and instead scroll down to “title”.
7. Click Search.
8. Click “View full text in html”.
9. Print copy of the article.
Keep this article. We will refer to it again.
Practice with a source:
Activity #3
1. Circle the title of the magazine or journal. This
is usually found at the top of the page under
the heading, “Source”. (It is not found under “Title”
because that is where the title of the article is located).
2. Consider the type of periodical—is it
scholarly, general interest, popular, or
sensational?
ANSWER
The “Afraid of the Bird Flu” article is a “General Interest”
periodical because it is from a magazine that is not peer-
reviewed—Fortune.
The article “Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu” is from a
scholarly source because it is from a peer-reviewed
source —Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Can we use these sources?
Consider other criteria
with a Critical Eye.
WHO
Consider the author—should we trust
her research?
Look for clues as you
consider these texts.
Authorship
When considering a source for your paper, be sure to have a
working understanding about authorship; who wrote it?
Many times this information helps us determine if the source
is credible (or not), if the writer has done her own research
(or not), and if we can rely on this information for our own
papers (or not).
Consider:
Name?
Degree?
Expertise?
Contact information?
Other contributions to topic/field?
AUTHORSHIP
NOTE: If your article does not have an author, or if it has an
author who has little connection to your subject , try to
find a different article.
For example, an article about AIDS is more reliable if it was
written by a doctor of contagious diseases than if it was
written by a journalist or a columnist.
Be cautious.
Remember—you want your reader to trust your research,
so you will want the most reliable authorities in your
work.
Authorship
IF YOUR SOURCE DOES NOT HAVE AN
AUTHOR—DO NOT BE AFRAID TO DO THE
FOLLOWING EARLY ON:
Trash that article.
Start anew with a good source.
Practice with Bird Flu articles:
Activity #4
Look for the names of the authors. Sometimes these
are found at the top of the article, and sometimes
they are found at the bottom. Examine the
authorship for both articles.
Circle the author(s) of each article.
Complete the following:
1. Write his/her name.
2. Where do they work?
3. Any publications? If so, write the name of it here.
4. Contact information? If so, write email or phone # here.
Write three or more sentences explaining why you
might consider these articles for use in your paper.
WHEN WAS IT PUBLISHED?
Is the information current?
Is it “old news”?
Was the research completed within the past few
months? Years? Decades?
Does it matter?
When was it published?
The timeliness depends upon the subject.
For example, if you were writing a research paper about
Lincoln, the timeliness of the journal article is not as
important as if you were writing an article about AIDS.
Medical research is ongoing and changes regularly, as
does computer technology, automotive safety, and
consumer economics (such as gas prices). While
historical research is also ongoing, it does not fluctuate
as much as other topics.
When was it published?
Look for the publication date at the top of the
article page.
For example: If you see the following:
People 13 no 11 12 N 24 2005
The N 24 2005 declares the article was written November 24, 2005.
Sometimes you will see the month and the year.
Sometimes you will see the month, date, and the year.
Sometimes you will see the season and the year (Fall 2001)
Turn page
When was it published?
Activity #5
Practice with the Bird Flu articles.
Consider when they were published. You will find the date
of publication at the top of the article along with the
citation information.
--Circle the dates at the top of the page.
--Write the dates on your workshop papers.
--For both—write 2-3 sentences explaining whether or not
the article is current enough for a possible research
paper about Bird Flu?
HOW RELIABLE?
Should you trust this information?
Look for clues:
1. Revisit the source of the article.
2. Look for references at the end of the piece.
3. Look for biased language.
How Reliable?
Revisit the source. If you found your
information on the Internet, again, be
very cautious. Look at the web address
to consider the purpose of the piece:
.com—a commercial venture (be cautious)
.net– a network (be cautious)
.edu—educational association (some good-some not)
.gov—government documents (generally ok)
.org—specific organization (consider purpose)
HOW RELIABLE?
Remember—if you look at your source from the library
database, it will say: “First Search.oclc” at the bottom.
The library purchased the First Search database for you
to access quality sources. When you use the library
database, you need to consider the reliability of the
source—the title of the magazine, the authorship, the
timeliness, etc… .
But—when you use Internet search engines such as
Google, Dogpile, or Yahoo, you must consider the use of
.com, .net, .org when you are thinking about the
reliability. Be cautious.
HOW RELIABLE?
Next, look for a list of references at the end
of the piece. Scholarly articles usually
include references.
Reference lists make the article more
reliable.
HOW RELIABLE?
Finally, look for bias or lack of careful editing. These clues
hint at the overall purpose of the piece: to vent or to put
forth an agenda.
Look for clues:
Bias words (“flaming liberal”, “fanatic”, “jerk”)
Slang (“you know”, “Whatever!”)
Sweeping generalizations (“everyone knows”, “it’s a known fact”)
Just as you consider your own writings with an eye toward cleaning the
text of bias, slang, and generalizations, you should expect the
articles you use to do the same. If they do not, they may not be
reliable.
HOW RELIABLE?
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
RELIABILITY OF THE SOURCE, DO NOT BE AFRAID
TO DO THE FOLLOWING EARLY ON:
Trash that article
Start anew with a good source
HOW RELIABLE?
Activity #6
Practice with your two Bird Flu articles. First, look
at the sources. Do they come from general
interest or scholarly journals?
Do they include references at the end of the text?
Are they biased in any way?
Look at next slide
HOW RELIABLE?
Activity #6
Write the source information (again) for each
article. Do you think these sources are reliable?
Do the articles include a list of references? Explain
how these references establish credibility (2-3
sentences).
Read both texts. Is there any biased language?
Slang? Sweeping generalizations? Talk about
your findings in 2-3 sentences.
PRINT THIS SLIDE FOR ACTIVITY #7.
Choose: “Print slide # 36” from the printing options.
FILL IN EACH BOX WITH INFORMAITON FROM ONE OF THE SOURCES YOU
ARE USING IN A CURRENT PAPER.
ARTICLE TITLE AUTHOR’S NAME WHEN PUBLISHED? HOW RELIABLE?
Where found? Degree? Is it current? .COM?
Library database? .NET? ?
Google?
.ORG?
.EDU .GOV
Scholarly? Contact Info? Topic explored? Any slang?
Is it Peer Reviewed? List here.
GENERAL INTEREST?
OTHER? ANY OTHER INFO? Is timeliness Any generalizations?
important?
List here
ACTIVITY #8
Based on the information from this
workshop, write a one-page reflection
explaining why you think your source is
reliable or not.
IF IN DOUBT ABOUT YOUR
SOURCE--
DO THE FOLLOWING EARLY ON:
Trash that article
Look for another source.
FIND AN UNRELIABLE SOURCE
Activity #9
Please do the following:
1. List the four criteria for evaluating sources.
2. Find an unreliable source on Google about the
Bird Flu. Print and staple it to the workshop
materials.
3. Give two reasons why you consider it
unreliable.
REFLECTION
ACTIVITY #10
1. Write a one-page reflection about what you have
learned from this workshop?
2.Make sure each activity is labeled as “Activity #1” and
“Activity #2” etc. . . .
3. Include the articles used:
--2 bird flu articles from library database
--1 bird flu article from google that you found unreliable
-- the current article you are considering for your paper
-- the “unreliable source” you found for activity #9
4. Staple all written work and articles together, and hand
in to your instructor.
If you have any questions or
comments:
Please contact:
Diana Agy (agydianam@jccmi.edu)
Geri Jacobs (jacobsgeraldii@jccmi.edu)