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Evaluate Information Sources for Credibility and Relevance
Evaluating Sources for Credibility by NCSU Libraries.
Key Questions
You decide! Judge if information is credible and make an informed decision about the appropriate use of a source for your research. See the tab "Infographic version" for more criteria.
Credible:
- What makes the author qualified to write about the topic? (Look at her or his credentials, experience, or organizational affiliations)
- What is the type of publication in which the source appears? (scholarly journal, magazine, newspaper, trade, blog, etc.)
- Is the source peer-reviewed by subject experts?
- What evidence is provided for claims? Are sources cited, and if so, how?
- Is the information current for your topic?
- Is this a source that is persuasive for your audience or would they question its credibility?
Relevant:
- How does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
- How does the source meet the requirements of your assignment?
- Is the information at an appropriate level? (not too elementary or advanced for your needs)
Overall Evaluation
Overall Evaluation- Drawing on the questions above, to what extent is this a credible source? Why or why not?
- Is this source appropriate for your purpose? Why or why not?
Download the PDF worksheet:
Popular vs. Scholarly Articles
Popular vs. Scholarly Articles
When exploring a topic and formulating a research question it is important to consult different types of sources as well as points of view. Use this page to be able to identify types of information sources and distinguish between scholarly and popular sources. Your professor may also require a minimum number of sources and types (e.g. peer-reviewed journal articles) that you need to use in your research assignment.
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Popular Periodicals
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Substantive News Periodicals (magazines and newspapers)
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Trade Publications
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Scholarly Journals (also called academic, peer reviewed, or refereed journals)
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Purpose: |
Entertainment | Information about current events and issues | Information about current trends and news in professional, business, and industry areas | Original research and findings (research articles), reviews of research (review articles), and reviews of scholarly books (book reviews) |
| Authors: | Staff writers, journalists, or freelancers | Staff writers, journalists, or freelancers | Staff writers, journalists, or freelancers. Sometimes a journalist with subject area expertise. | Experts in their field: researchers, practitioners, professors and scholars |
| Audience: | General public | General public | Practitioners in a field | Scholars (professors, researchers, students) knowledgeable about a specific discipline |
| Level of Review: | Editors working for the publication review the articles; these editors are most likely not experts on the topic of the article they are editing. | Editors working for the publication review the articles; these editors are most likely not experts on the topic of the article they are editing. | Editors working for the trade publication review the articles; these editors are more likely to know about the topic than a magazine or newspaper editor would, but they still are not experts on it. | An editorial board made up of other scholars and researchers review the articles. Many, but not all, scholarly articles are peer reviewed. Peer reviewed articles are considered the gold standard of tested information. |
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What is Peer Review?
The goal of Peer Review is to assess the quality of articles submitted for publication in a scholarly journal.
Peer Review in 3 Minutes by NCSU Libraries.
BE AWARE: Not everything published in a scholarly journal is a Peer Reviewed Article! When limiting to "peer-reviewed" the databases are going by the type of journal, and not distinguishing the variety of content in the journal, which typically also contains editorials and book reviews, which are not peer-reviewed.
The peer-review and publication process often takes well over one year, so it might be hard to find a peer-reviewed article for a currently emerging topic.
If you are still unsure if it is a peer-reviewed journal, Google the journal's homepage.
Strategies for Reading Scholarly Articles
Scholarly articles are written by scholars for an audience of other scholars. They thus assume prior knowledge of the subject, which you likely do not have. Scholarly articles are also written with a language and tone that is, shall we say, the opposite of reading for enjoyment. But it's going to be okay! There are time-saving strategies to read and comprehend scholarly material. For example, you don't initially read a scholarly article or book from beginning to end; instead, you read certain sections first to understand the main arguments and results. Watch the video below to learn more.
How to Read and Comprehend Scientific Research Articles by University of Minnesota Libraries.
Conference Proceedings
Conference Proceedings
Purpose: Inform the scientific/engineering world about a new technology faster than a peer-reviewed or journal article could.
Authorship: Written by the experts in the field that did the research.
Accuracy: Organized by an editorial team. The amount of scrutiny applied to these proceedings varies with the conference; some are read and either accepted or rejected right then, while others go through more vigorous scrutiny via peer-review or some other system before they are released. Editors are allowed to make changes in papers without the permission of the author, although it is not common for them to do so.
Look for:
- Conference Proceedings are collections of research papers presented at research conferences.
- Are not official journal or peer-reviewed articles at this stage of their life, but may soon become that.
- Uses very field-specific terminology.
- Often includes graphs and charts to help explain its findings.