Reading Critically and Evaluating Sources

What to look for in a source:

Author

• What are the author's credentials?
  • Where do they work?
  • What education do they have?
  • Have they written about this topic before?

Date of Publication 

• Is this information recent?
• Has any new information been published more recently?

Edition 

• Are there newer editions of this source? (this is very important for textbooks)
• What revisions or changes have been made in the newer editions?

Publisher 

• If the source is published by a university press (e.g. Cambridge University Press; Oxford University Press) then the source is most likely scholarly.
• Sources published by academic journals usually have to undergo a rigorous peer review process before publication.

Type of Periodical 

• The type of periodical that a source is published in affects the editing and review process the source undergoes prior to publication:
  • Academic articles are peer reviewed before publication.
  • Newspapers, popular magazines, and trade magazines undergo less rigorous review processes.

What to look for in the content:

Intended Audience 

• Who is the intended audience of the source?
  • Is it aimed at a general or specialized audience?
    • This will affect the level of complexity in the writing, research, and analysis.

Bias or "Spin" 

• Is the information in the source fact, opinion, or propaganda? 
  • Can you verify or corroborate the information? 
• Is bias clearly stated or acknowledged? This is common practice in most original research articles.

Writing Style 

• Is the source clearly and skillfully written?
• Does the research follow a logical progression? 
  • Are the arguments clear?
  • Do the conclusions make sense with the results presented?