The Internet and the Library make it is easy to find information, but it is more difficult to identify sources you can rely on. Evaluate your sources carefully to ensure you've selected material that is trustworthy and appropriate for your assignment.
Use this chart to help you evaluate your sources:
Scholarly Academic Publication |
Popular Publications |
|
Author |
Written by an expert in the field of study (an academic or trained specialist) | Written by those without expertise in the field (a member of the public or journalist) or no author is stated |
Date |
Date of publication is provided | Popular publications, especially Web publications, often do not give a date of publication |
Publisher |
Colleges/Universities, professional associations, research institutes + scholarly publishers | Commercial for-profit publishers |
Purpose |
To report on original research, experiments, theories; written for experts or university/college students | To sell advertised products, inform, promote a point of view or entertain; written for the general public |
Editing |
Peer review by experts in the field (also known as refereed) |
Review by a generalist (a magazine editor) or no review |
Documentation |
Sources used in the author's research are cited in a reference list or footnotes | Sources are rarely cited or are inaccurate |
Other |
Accurate spelling + grammar, few advertisements, logical + well written, specialized vocabulary |
Spelling + grammar errors may occur, many advertisements, variable writing quality, non-technical, simple vocabulary, informal tone |
|
(Modified, original source UBC Library |
||
For more information on evaluating information sources, see:
Adapted from The CRAAP Test, developed by librarians at California State University, Chico
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