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SSCI 209: Social Sciences Research Methods

Course guide for SSCI 209 covering library resources and other research tips

Lateral Reading and Evaluation of Sources

Evaluating Sources

Whenever we find a source, whether through Google or a library database, we always want to evaluate it to determine if we can use it for our research paper or project. When we evaluate, we are looking for relevance and credibility.

Relevance: Is this source useful, appropriate, and related to your particular research question?

Credibility: Is this source trustworthy? Why or why not?

We can use the evaluation criteria below to help us answer these questions.

Evaluation Criteria

Adapted from University of Illinois Library Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support's page, Evaluate Sources

Purpose

  • Why was this source published?
  • Does this source inform, persuade, provide an opinion, sell something, etc.?
  • Who is the intended audience?

Author/Creator

  • Who is the author or creator of this source?
  • What are their credentials?
  • Do they have authority to speak on this topic?

Publisher

  • What company published or produced this source?
  • Is this a for-profit company, and if so, how might that impact the information presented in one of their publications/works?
  • Is this company known to have an editorial bias, and if so, how might that impact information presented in one of their publications/works?
  • Does this company have a mission statement listed on their website? What is it and what does it tell you about the company?

Date Published/Released

  • When was this information published or released?
  • Do you need recent or historical information on your topic?

Sources Cited

  • Does the author/creator cite their sources, either formally or informally?
  • What are the sources the author cites?
  • Does the author/creator appear to fairly represent the information from their cited sources?

Identifying Scholarly Sources

Oftentimes in a college-level research assignment, you'll be required to use scholarly sources. If you've ever had to find peer-reviewed articles for a paper, you've searched for scholarly sources.

Scholarly source: a source written by academics and other experts in a field, for other experts in that field, for the purpose of covering new research, findings, and theory. Scholarly sources are often peer-reviewed.

Examples of scholarly sources include research articles, theses and dissertations, and books published by an academic publisher or university press, like Harvard University Press.

Peer-review: a process by which an article, written by an expert or experts in a field, is reviewed by other experts in the field (i.e., the authors' peers) before being accepted for publication. This process is intended to ensure that the research performed meets ethical and quality standards, has theoretical backing, and is significant to the field.