Why Evaluate Sources?
Whether you're doing research for a school assignment or looking for information for your own personal knowledge, you want to know the information you find is accurate and reliable. While it may be easier to take everything at face value, an important part of learning how to conduct research and use information is learning how to think critically about the sources you find.
Believe it or not, this is something you probably already do! Let's say you're looking for a cool new restaurant to try in Worcester. How will you find what you're looking for? Maybe you ask a friend and they suggest a new restaurant they tried and loved. Will you look for more information, or go based on only their recommendation? If they've never steered you wrong when it comes to restaurants, you might decide their recommendation is trustworthy enough and go for it without getting a second opinion. However, if they have some tastes you don't agree with, maybe your next step will be to verify their recommendation by looking at Yelp reviews or a menu online.
This is one example of how we evaluate sources and information in our everyday life. You can also apply this to your research. When you're looking at a source, you want to think about who it's coming from, how trustworthy it is, what it's trying to say, and how it relates to your research needs.
Questions for Evaluating Sources
Six Questions for Evaluating Sources
When you're looking at a source and deciding if it's right for your research, ask yourself the six questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
| WHO |
Who is the author? |
Look for more information about the author. Find out their qualifications and experience to determine if they are a credible expert on the topic. Think about their bias or point of view. Everyone has bias and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Recognizing it can help you understand where the author is coming from. Be wary of sources where you cannot identify an author or creator. |
|---|---|---|
| WHAT |
What type of source is it? |
Think about what type of source you're looking at - is it a research paper? An entertainment piece? An opinion essay? Consider if it is scholarly or popular and what the format tells you about the source. |
| WHEN |
When was it published? |
Consider how recent and/or timely the information is and how recent you need information to be for your topic. In some subjects, new information develops very quickly and sources that are more than a few years old may already be outdated. In other subjects, information may move more slowly. |
| WHERE |
Where did you find the source? |
Look at where the source was published or shared. See what you can find out about the publisher and their editorial process (Is it peer reviewed? Edited by one general editor? Not edited at all?). Be on the lookout for conflicts of interest and potential bias in publishing. Consider if it is a scholarly publisher, a government source, an educational institution, or an informal source like a blog. |
| WHY |
Why was this written and published? |
Think about the purpose of the source and what it is trying to accomplish. Is the source trying to inform you of new information? Is it trying to persuade you to do something or to have a certain point of view? Is it an ad trying to sell you something? Is it entertainment? Beware of native advertising - posts that are made to look like news articles or stories but are actually paid for by a company or group selling a product. If a story has been paid for, that should be disclosed on the page where you're reading it, but it can sometimes be hard to find! |
| HOW |
How did the author/creator find their information? |
If the source is an original research study, look at the methods and conclusions to learn about how the study was conducted and what they learned from it. If the author cites their sources, see if you can find the original source to verify the information. Be cautious using sources that do not contain citations or do not show how they got their information. |
Who is an Expert?
Authority: Who is an expert?
When we talk about evaluating sources, we use a concept called authority to think about who is creating and sharing information. Authority refers to the influence, credibility, expertise, and qualifications of a source's creator. Think about how people become experts and what makes someone qualified to speak about or write about a topic. This may be different depending on the topic and what kind of information you're looking for.
Some ways people gain expertise in a subject are:
- Spending time studying, researching, and publishing research about the topic
- Living through something and sharing personal experiences
- Holding a certain office or job, like the CEO of a company or a spokesperson for a government agency
- Interviewing other experts and researching a topic (for example, an investigative journalist doing research for a story)
Think about who you consider an expert and what kind of expertise makes sense for your research needs.
Tips for Fact Checking
Pay attention to your emotions.
Disinformation, misinformation, and fake news thrive on manipulating people's emotions. If you are reading or watching something that is making you feel an emotional reaction, pay attention to that. Is the source deliberately trying to get you to feel a certain way to manipulate some sort of reaction out of you? Of course, some things you read or watch will genuinely cause an emotional reaction - you're human! If that emotion is used to manipulate you into believing something untrue, however, that's where things get difficult.
Check the date.
Sometimes misinformation takes the form of an outdated story being shared as if it new and current. Before you share or take something as fact, check the date. Was it posted recently? If it is a few years old, can you find updated information about what it's talking about? Why is someone sharing it now? Is it to push a certain agenda?
Know the source's bias(es).
Different publications may have certain bias or points of view. If you're reading an article, watching a video, listening to a podcast, or viewing anything that comes from a specific source, think about what you know about that source. Do they typically post information that shares one single point of view, or do they present more rounded perspectives? What can you find out about their editing process and fact checking? Use a tool like the media bias chart to see where your source falls on a scale of political bias and reliability.
Know your bias(es).
Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to seek out information that is consistent with your existing beliefs. This is something that happens subconsciously, where our brains focus on information that confirms what we already believe, and ignore information that challenges our beliefs. When reading news or conducting research, it's important to be aware of your biases and make sure to seek out information that offers a different perspective from your own so you build a well-rounded understanding of a topic. The video below explains more about how confirmation bias functions.