There are no clear-cut, absolute answers on whether a source is a "good" source, or how to determine one. But there are a few questions that can help you explore whether a source is credible enough to use in a research assignment:
Navigate away from the site itself, and see what other sources have to say about the website or organization. Even taking a look at the Wikipedia page can help!
The first few search results aren't always the best or most helpful sources to use, so take some time to scroll through your results--even looking at the second page!--before you pick a few to click on.
Looking at several aspects of the article can help you determine if it's scholarly/academic.
| Author |
What are the author's credentials? Do they have an advanced degree? Are they a researcher/professor in the subject matter the article is about? If the author is a journalist or writer, they are probably writing for a more general audience rather than for scholars. |
|---|---|
| Journal |
What does the journal specialize in, and what is it's audience? Scholarly journals often specialize in a specific research topic or range of topics, and their audiences are other scholars and students rather than the general public. However, some scholarly journals have very broad scopes; Science, for example, is a prestigious journal that publishes research in all areas of science. Examples of scholarly/academic journals: Science, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, Augustinian Studies, MIT Sloan Management Review. You should be able to find information about the scholarly journal on its website. It should have information about what it publishes, often called "Aims & Scope," and about its peer review. |
| References |
How are the sources cited?
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| Content |
How specialized is the topic, and how is the article laid out?
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Want a second opinion? Feel free to ask a Librarian at the Reference Desk.
Looking at several aspects of the book can help you determine if it's scholarly/academic.
| Author |
What are the author's credentials? Do they have an advanced degree? Are they a researcher/professor in the subject matter the books is about? If the author is a journalist or writer, they are probably writing for a more general audience rather than for scholars. |
|---|---|
| Publisher |
A lot of publishers specialize in publishing scholarly books. If it's a university press, that's a good sign it's scholarly. Not familiar with the publisher? Google it and see what they specialize in. Examples of scholarly/academic publishers: Cambridge University Press, University of Minnesota Press, Routledge, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, World Scientific. |
| References | Are the sources cited? They might be in the form of footnotes at the bottoms of pages, end notes at the end of chapters, or end notes or a bibliography at the end of the book. Academic books have in-text citations more frequently than non-academic books. |
| Content | How specialized are the chapter titles? Is there jargon and subject-specific terminology? Are there figures like maps, charts, or graphs? |
Want a second opinion? Ask a librarian at the Reference Desk.
Crash Course's series Navigating Digital Information is a great place to dig deeper into different aspects of evaluating information.