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.
Adapted from University of Illinois Library Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support's page, Evaluate Sources
Purpose
Author/Creator
Publisher
Date Published/Released
Sources Cited
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.