Evaluating Research

Okay, you’ve got your writing assignment pulled up on your class website page, your outline for the assignment next to you, the library’s database on another tab, and a new Microsoft word document ready to go. Now what? Research. Research in itself can be a daunting task, and, although you have planned out what you are going to do for your assignment and why, getting started looking for sources that will help you to the end goal of writing takes knowhow. Looking for sources on your topic by typing keywords or phrases into search bars and hitting “go” is easy, but not every source out there is going to be considered ‘credible,’ or, a type of source that your professors will let you use for your assignments. So, how do you go about trying to figure out if a source is credible in order to be able read it and process all of its information, and all this before your paper is due? Well, take a deep breath because it’s possible, and here are some tips to keep in mind when you evaluate the sources that you find when researching.

Consult Rubrics and Outlines When Doing Research

Teachers typically give a rubric or assignment guideline when assigning a paper so make sure to consult it when you began your research. This will help you know the number and type of sources you are expected to find during research. For instance, if your rubric says you need to include 3 scholarly articles in your writing, then you know you have to find three sources that are written in the form of articles by people considered to be a scholar (specialist) in their field.

Don’t forget to consult your own outline for your assignment, as you probably have certain aspects of your topic that you want to address or maybe even a point you want to make and support in your writing, and you will need sources that give you that support. For example, if you want to make the point that original fairytales should not be read to children because they are too gruesome and violent then you’ll need sources that support that point, such as scholarly articles and studies, the original texts themselves to reference back to, and maybe some firsthand accounts if you can find any.

To learn more on how to read a text and if the information in the text is right for your assignment click here.

Scholarly Sources

Scholarly sources are written by scholars or professionals in a specific field, primarily academic, that know exactly what they are talking about on a subject. Often times your teacher will ask for you to use scholarly sources because they are more reliable with the information that they present because of the background of the writer. Scholarly sources are typically essays or articles found in academic journals. Your university’s library database as well as using the phrase “scholarly articles for/on….” in Google can be great ways to find scholarly articles and journals.

However, it is possible that some scholarly sources can be found on websites. This chance is very slim though, and we recommend using some of the legitimacy tests provided in the link below to determine if the source you are looking at is scholarly or not. Newspapers can also be scholarly yet keep in mind that news sources are often politically biased, and certain writing you are asked to do may call for objectivity in researching and writing. Some newspapers are also for entertainment purposes and may sometimes create facts or use assumption as fact.

Click here for tips on how to find out if a source is scholarly.

Popular Sources

Popular sources are written by virtually anyone for any reason on any subject. You probably are more familiar with popular sources than scholarly sources because you most likely use them on a daily basis. Basically, anything that is not scholarly is popular. Popular sources may or may not include the author’s name as well as date the source was published or the publisher’s name itself. This type of source includes writing found on entertainment and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram all the way to questionable newspapers and personal blogs.

Not all information in popular sources if false or untrustworthy; however, your research is grounded on a firm foundation if you use scholarly works because you are getting information straight from the source or someone related to the source. While popular sources are a great way to tell what information is “popular” with the public, it is also harder to tell if the information is true since virtually anyone can write anything in the public domain, so be sure to make sure if it is okay to use popular sources for your assignment by consulting your assignment’s rubric or your teacher.

Legitimacy of Sources

When evaluating research for a paper, it is important to determine if a source is legitimate, or trustworthy, because you do not want to waste your time or your readers’ time by accidently using false information. The legitimacy of a source is an extension of determining if it is scholarly or popular and looks at whether or not the actual information and author is trustworthy of incorporating into your writing. Here are some tests to use when evaluating your sources:

The CRAAP Test

The CRAAP test is a way for you to evaluate your sources. You can do this by asking a series of questions about the different parts of the source, to help you determine whether or not you can use the information. CRAAP is an acronym, and it stands for:

Currency

This is the part of the test that determines how recent your source is. Some questions you can ask to you help you figure out if your information is current includes:

When was the information published or posted?
Has the information been revised or updated?
Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?
Are the links functional?

Relevance

This is the part of the test that determines if the source relates to your topic. Some questions you can ask to help you figure out if your information is relevant includes:

Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
Who is the intended audience?
Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?

Authority

This is the part of the test that determines where the information came from. Some questions you can ask to help you figure out if your information is authoritative includes:

Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
Are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations given?
What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations given?
What are the author’s qualifications to write on the topic?
Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?

Accuracy

This is the part of the test that determines if the information is truthful. Some questions you can ask to help you figure out if your information is accurate includes:

Where does the information come from?
Is the information supported by evidence?
Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose

This is the part of the test that determines why this information was published. Some questions you can ask to help you figure out the purpose of your information includes:

What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

The Author’s Name Check

If you cannot find the author’s name anywhere, this may be a time when you need to step back and assess the trustworthiness of the piece. Scholarly works (articles, journals, papers, etc.) will always provide an author’s name. This allows you to do a quick search of the author’s name on Google to find out who they are, what they do, and whether or not they are well-known in their field. The more prominent an author is the more relevant the article you are using as a source for your paper is.

The Domain Test

Less formal writing like some website articles and social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) rarely give an author’s name, so a quick trick to determine if the source is trustworthy or not is to look at the website’s domain and the organization that “published” the text.

Does the domain end in .com or .org? How about .edu? Website articles with no provided author and a domain of .com are not very trustworthy since they could have been created by anyone, anywhere, for any purpose. Website articles with no author but have a domain ending in .edu, .org, and .gov are usually more trustworthy because they are not created for money but to spread knowledge or support a cause.

If the domain is probably trustworthy, then look at the publisher’s name which is usually at the very top or very bottom of the page (Publishing Example). Is the name of the publisher an organization, foundation, or a university? The website is probably trustworthy if so. Is the publisher some random name? Is the publisher more associated with entertaining the public? Are they know for searching for the truth or simply making it up? Does it even have a publisher? You may want to ask a teacher or librarian for help if the name looks suspicious or you cannot find one at all. Does it cite other sources? If so, it is probably more trustworthy since it is apparent the author took the time to ground their work with support from other texts.

Website domain endings to look out for:

.edu (educational)

.gov (government)

.org (nonprofit)

.com (commercial)

Sometimes authors listed on website articles do have trustworthy credentials, but, like mentioned above, if you are ever unsure always do a quick Google search of the author, this may save you a lot of time and energy when you are writing and researching for a paper. (See also our passage on Ethos in ‘Writing Genres’ for more tips on finding the trustworthiness of a source.)

Synthesis

Synthesizing is a reading strategy that is often confused with summarizing. The difference is, while summarizing is just creating a short explanation of what the main idea of a text was, synthesizing is figuring out what the main idea was, and then connecting it to the main idea of something else that you’ve read. That means that a synthesis needs for you to go beyond the text, while a summary does not. You’ll find that at the university level, many of your instructors expect you to move past summary and into synthesis when you’re writing a paper. So, keeping synthesis in mind while you’re reading is a great way to prepare for that.

There are a couple of different ways that you can go about this. One way is to make a Venn diagram of two ideas that you’re hoping to connect. You can include points from the original readings, as well as your own thoughts about the subjects. The key goal of synthesis is to connect what you read about in one text with what you read about in another, using your own thoughts and observations. You could also try using an idea map, like that one that’s included in the ‘Getting Started’ page. An idea map is great for visualizing connections between thoughts, so if you’re more of a visual learner, this strategy might work best for you.