Locating, Evaluating, and Selecting Sources

Locating Sources

Whenever we ask you to find sources, many of you go first to Google or Wikipedia. Few of you go first to the NCHS databases or even a reliable news source or website. You have a plethora of resources available to you in libraries, on the web, and through the NCHS databases. Go to the databases and more reliable news sources such as National Public Radio (NPR.org), the New York Times(nytimes.com), the Washington Post (washingtonpost.com), the British Broadcasting Company (bbc.co.uk), or most websites ending in .gov, .mil, or .edu.

You also have a plethora of individuals who are wise researchers; please use them as a support tool (Ms. Luhtala, Ms. Pacelli, Ms. Burns, Ms. Sheehan…oh, and your teachers!)

Evaluating Sources

You must evaluate the purpose of the source and the usefulness of the source before you select it to use for your own research. Ask yourself the following questions as you scan the source:

• Who wrote the article?
• What knowledge does this author have on the topic? From what background or perspective does he/she write?
• Who is the author's audience?
• Does the author write with a bias?
• Who published the work? What other sources link to the article?
• Is this publisher one I would trust? What is the publisher's reputation?
• In what year was the work published?
• How is the work organized or displayed? For whom is it designed?
• How is the source useful to your own research on this topic?

Need more help evaluating your sources? Take the NCHS online CRAAP test!

Selecting Sources

If you can answer that last question (How is the source useful to your own research on this topic?) in an honest and intelligent way and have decided that this is a useful source, select this source.