Skip to Main Content

*Getting Started on Your Research

Often finding information is less of a problem than figuring out whether that information will be appropriate for your project.

One way to decide whether a source is “good” for your project or not is to begin by asking some questions about the source.

 

  • Who created the source?
  • What is the purpose of the source?
  • Where was the source published?

 

 

  • When was the source published?
  • Why is the source useful to you?

 

Remember! Evaluation is a holistic process. One of these questions isn’t enough to determine a source’s usefulness. You need to take them all into account.

WHO created the source?

  • What expertise does the author/organization have to write on this topic?
  • What are their credentials? How are they connected to the field they are writing about?
  • Are they affiliated with any specific organizations? Which ones? Could this impact their reliability?

WHAT is the purpose of the source?

  • What is the source saying about your topic? What points or argument is it making?
  • Does the point of view appear to be objective or does it appear to be strongly biased? Is the author writing from personal experience or interviewing others?
  • Is the source informing? Selling? Entertaining? Persuading?

WHERE was the source published?

  • What type of publication is the source published in? Scholarly/academic? Newspaper? Magazine? Trade? Report? Something else?
  • Who is the intended audience for the source?
  • Are there references within or at the end of the source? What types of other sources are cited?

WHEN was the source published?

  • Does your topic require very recent information or will older sources be acceptable or even preferred?
  • Are there any historical events connected to your topic? When was the source published in relation to those events?
  • If no date is provided how might this impact the reliability or usefulness of the information in this source?

WHY is this source useful to you?

  • Does the information in the source help to answer your research question or develop your argument?
  • How does this information inform your research? How will you use this information in your project?
  • Is the source written at an appropriate level for your needs (i.e. not to simplistic/not too advanced)?

 

This work is a derivative of “Evaluating Sources with the 5 Ws” by Rebecca J. Thompson (thompson.rebecca.j@gmail.com), adapted from CSU (http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf), used under CC BY-NC-SA. This text is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA by Kelly Banyas and Donna Witek.