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Evaluating your resources.
Evaluating your resources.
Your paper or project will only be as good as the information you use. Faulty, outdated or biased information will result in faulty, outdated or biased conclusions. While we most frequently question online resources, you should not categorically accept print or other resources. Always evaluate your resources. An easy way to do this is to apply the CRAAP test. What is the the CRAAP test? When deciding on what resources to use, you always want to consider:
- Currency
- Relevancy
- Authority
- Accuracy
- Purpose
Be sure that the author of whatever information you are viewing has the authority to speak on the subject and would be considered knowledgeable about the subject in question. Is the author objective or biased? Is the purpose to inform or persuade? These are all important considerations when assessing your source.
Primary Sources vs Secondary Sources
Primary Sources vs Secondary Sources
Sometimes it is easier to distinguish between primary and secondary sources than it is at other times. It may help to ask the question, "Is the work in question reporting directly about a situation (events, statistics, etc) or is it interpreting the situation (meaning of the event, statistics, etc)."
Examples:
- Fiction: For instance, when writing a paper and quoting from The Hobbit, you are using The Hobbit as a primary source. a quote from The Hobbit in your paper is a primary source. Information presented in the forward by another author and interpreting the significance of the work would be a secondary source. In addition, your analysis of what this quote means in the context of the work would be a secondary source.
- News (newspaper, radio or television report, etc) : If a report factually describes a current event or occurrence, it is a primary source. If a newscaster follows up with the statement "and this is what it means to you", this becomes his/her interpretation and is a secondary source.
- Document: Verbiage from the constitution would constitute a primary source. The argument an author might make, based on his/her understanding of the constitution, would be a secondary source.
Print vs Online resources
Print vs Online resources
Both print and online resources have their advantages and disadvantages.
Print resources are more frequently, but not always, written by experts in the subject field - think encyclopedias, peer-reviewed journals and other academic writing. On the other hand, print materials can be biased. You need to be vigilant as to the author's intent and be sensitive to bias. If the purpose of the writing is to present a current or topical event, the publication date should be recent. If the topic is not of recent origin, older works may be appropriate. However, be aware that older works may have been written at a time that could be culturally different from the present. Does this affect your assessment of the validity of the material? Always consider the author's point of view.
Online sources generally require much more analysis. You want to consider many of the same factors in assessing online materials. However, it is much easier for some one to mask or misrepresent their identity, and you may frequently need to do some additional research to determine if the author meets the description of an authority. You may want to check the material's URL to be sure the source is really from whom it purports to be. The domain (.com, .edu, .gov, .net, etc.) may be pertinent to the reliability of the source.
Educational databases such as those supplied by educational institutions have been curated for accuracy and represent desirable sources for your research. For instance, Catholic High School subscribes to Proquest eLibrary. This is an excellent source for information regarding current topics. Targeting your search using boolean searches or intitle searches is very effective. Google Scholar is an excellent search tool. You will find that good searching habits and practices will save you time and improve the quality of any project.
Determining if a Source is Scholarly
Determining if a Source is Scholarly
If you are not sure if a source is scholarly, take a look at the flow chart below.
Keep in mind, there are different types of periodicals (magazines) that serve different purposes. Review the chart "Characteristics of Scholarly, Refereed, Popular, and Trade Publications" to determine if your article is appropriate for your research purposes.
Scholarly Source - Flow Chart.pdfCharacteristics of Scholarly, Refereed. Popular, and Trade Publications.pdfReport abuse