Judging the Reliability of Sources

When consulting sources you need to consider issues of “authority, accuracy and currency.” Randomly accessing a website after a Google search, or simply pulling a book off a library shelf, does not guarantee that you will gain the information or analysis you need.

BOOKS

For books, you should judge the general sense of scholarliness by considering external characteristics like length, the presence of an index, the year of publication, and the presence of a preface or a forward written by another expert in the field. You also need to consider the author’s credentials, the depth of analysis, the language and tone, suggestions of bias, the publisher, etc.

WEBSITES

Similarly, for websites, don’t be swayed by the presence or absence of colorful graphics. Consider whether or not the author is identified, whether you’ve heard of the site, the author, the institution, etc. Be sensitive to bias, and the inclusion or lack of evidence or cited sources. The prevalence of various typos or poor grammar may be clues to low quality of the site. The domains “.edu” or “.org” do not guarantee legitimacy; they may well include papers uploaded by students, or biased material from opinionated groups. Such sources can be useful, but only if you’re aware of any bias that is present, which you should then discuss.

Some common sources:

Wikipedia --

It can be useful for acquiring general knowledge or particular facts; however, you should be careful for a number of reasons. Wikipedia is edited by its users, and as a result, can include inaccurate material. Some entries are locked (especially controversial or politically charged topics), while others are constantly being altered. Some entries indicate that material may not be entirely accurate, so pay attention. Whatever you may find, this is an encyclopedia and, like other encyclopedias, it does not provide significant analytical depth. Depending on your assignment, it may be somewhat useful or entirely out-of-bounds, so check with your teacher if you are unsure.

Google Scholar –

– This is Google’s search engine for academic work. It includes a wide range of articles from such sources as scholarly journals, books, university repositories and individual authors. While some of these articles have been peer-reviewed and published in respected journals, others have not. In some cases, the full text of articles is available, but in others, only excerpts. It can be quite useful, but use at your own risk. Please remember that Edgemont provides home access to JSTOR and other resources through the school's webpage.

Sparknotes (& similar sources) –

It can be useful to remind yourself of character names and plot points. However, the goal of your work in an English course is to read and interpret for yourself, and Sparknotes can interfere with that process. Reading Sparknotes cannot substitute for reading the primary text. Sparknotes’ discussions of themes and symbolism are generally shallow and conventional.

PubMed –

This is a collection of millions of citations for biomedical research from MEDLINE, life science journals, and books. In some cases full-text articles are available, while in other situations, only abstracts. These articles are peer-reviewed and can be quite valuable.

Remember that the evaluation of sources is a crucial part of the research process, and is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher. The brief explanations and suggestions provided here are meant to spur your thinking about your sources, not be the final word on any source discussed. In the end, your job as researcher is to best utilize the wealth of information available to you by thinking critically about what you encounter.

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