Evaluating Sources

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Evaluating Sources

• Analytical and Rhetorical Writing
• Matt Barton

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One Minute Prompt 1

• Why do scholars include quotations and references
  to other works in their documents?

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Research and Ethos

• Good writers build ethos by knowing about and
  referring readers to other research.
• Your readers will often demand to know where you
  acquired certain information.
• Build up a collection of facts, statistics,
  quotations, and references to backup your
  opinions and assertions.

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Rhetoric of Research

• Not all sources are equal, and knowing how to
  evaluate a source, or determine its validity, is
  critical and a rhetorical skill.
• Some audiences may accept some sources that other
  audiences will not--evaluating sources is a
  rhetorical skill.
• Most of the essays you will write in college
  require library research, though some may require
  laboratory research or field research.

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Criteria for Evaluating Sources

• In general, an academic source must answer to
  these criteria
• Relevance
• Accuracy
• Authority
• Context
• Timeliness
• Coverage

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Relevance

• The first step is to determine if the source is
  really useful for your purposes.
• Ensure that you are aware of the most relevant
  sources to consult for your projects.
• These can be determined by database searches, but
  also the frequency by which they are cited in
  related works.

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Accuracy

• You should carefully consider whether the source
  contains accurate information and makes valid
  points.
• What kind of evidence is provided?
• What kind (if any) sources are cited?
• What is the methodology?

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Authority

• In the academic world, different types of sources
  carry different weight. They are listed here in
  order of their validity
• Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
• Scholarly books, monographs, or essays in an
  edited collections
• Interviews with experts or well-known scholars

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Journal Articles

• Academic journals submit each article to a peer
  review process. Heres how it works
• Editor sends article to two other scholars
• These scholars accept or reject the piece. Either
  way, they usually offer extensive commentary and
  advice for the author. If the decision is not
  unanimous, the article is sent to a third
  reviewer.
• If accepted, the author makes the necessary
  revisions and returns the document to the editor.
• At this point, the author works with the journal
  editors to help improve the readability of the
  piece.

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Scholarly Books

• Because of high costs, scholarly books tend to be
  published only if they appeal to a large
  audience.
• Almost all scholarly books undergo the same peer
  review process as journals.
• Book publication is a long, slow processthe
  information in these books may be quite obsolete
  before the book is published.

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Interviews

• Depending on the context, interviews may be more
  valuable than other types of sources.
• Interviewers are usually able to ask specific
  questions that may not be covered in books and
  articles.
• Nevertheless, interview responses arent usually
  as credible as other sources.
• Interviewees may be nervous or unprepared.
• Interviewees are assumed to put more thought into
  the works they write than their spoken answers.

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Questionable Sources

• In most cases, scholarly writers avoid citing
  sources that have not been through the academic
  peer-review process.
• Encyclopedias, textbooks and materials designed
  to teach students are generally not acceptable.
• Some professional, peer-reviewed websites may be
  marginally acceptable, but some professors do not
  value them.

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Authors

• Try to cite big authors whose works on the
  given subject are well-known and respected.
• Learn who the big authors are by taking note of
  which ones get cited in other articles.
• Ask professors for a list of the most influential
  authors in a discipline and their most important
  works.

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Publishers

• Some publishers are considered more prestigious
  than others.
• University presses publish most scholarly books,
  though there are plenty of commercial publishers
  who do as well.
• Be wary of vanity press or self-published books.

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Methodology

• Take a sources theoretical framework into
  consideration
• What methods did the authors use to make their
  case?
• Which theory or theories do the authors use in
  their analysis or treatment of a subject?
• Some analyses rely on quantitative evidence
  whereas others rely on qualitative.

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Context

• Before you quote or refer to a source, its
  important to understand its context.
• What conversation is this document a part of?
• How does the document reflect the expectations or
  assumptions of a particular cultural or
  historical context?

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Timeliness

• Consider that older sources may be obsolete or
  contain obsolete elements.
• However, sometimes influential or important works
  on a subject are ancient therefore, expect to
  see a mix of old and new sources.

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Coverage

• What is the scope of a given source?
• Is the piece an exhaustive or comprehensive
  treatment, or just a quick gloss?
• What has been left out of the research?

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Building Bibliographies

• Its not enough just to find sources that relate
  to a given topic. You must learn to find the best
  sources.
• Determining which sources are the best is a long
  and sometimes difficult processconsider asking
  experts or scholars first.
• In general, the best sources are the ones that
  are cited most frequently in other works on that
  topic.

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Finding Sources

• Remember to rely on the bibliographies and works
  cited lists of other authors.
• The bibliographies should form a network of
  citations that can help you learn which sources
  are important.
• If a key book or article is not available in the
  library, you should use the Interlibrary Loan
  System.

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One Minute Prompt 2

• How can you quickly find and evaluate sources for
  your research papers?