Evaluating Sources
Keys to Success
- Determine the best source of information for your research or information need.
- Identify the audience that your source was created for. For example:
- A peer-reviewed source will be written for experts.
- A newspaper article will appeal to a general audience.
- Read a variety of sources to verify information.
Highlighted Resources: Wikipedia and Google
One of the best ways to evaluate a source is to learn more about the source’s background. One of the quickest ways to do that is to conduct a simple Google search. Look up the name of the source, (e.g. the name of the website) and find a Wikipedia article or reliable news article about the source. Figure out if it is widely considered a reliable source.
Watch the following video to see an example of this.
More Resources
It is your responsibility to determine if a source is reliable. Use the following resources to help you evaluate a source.
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Toggle ItemCheck if a source is peer-reviewed with UlrichsWeb
You can use UlrichsWeb to check if a journal is peer-reviewed. To gain access to this resource, follow the following steps:
- Go to the BYU Library website.
- Log in using your Net ID by clicking on "Login" in the top right corner.
- Then search "UlrichsWebs" in the library home page search bar.
- Lastly, when the search results appear, click on "UlrichsWeb."
Once you have gained access to UlrichsWeb, you can now check if the article you found is part of a peer-reviewed journal. Follow these steps to do so:
- Identify what journal your article is in (This is usually listed near the top of your academic article).
- Insert the name of the journal into the UlrichsWeb search bar and hit the search button.
- Check to see if the journal is peer-reviewed. If there is a referee shirt icon next to the journal's name, then it's peer-reviewed.
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Toggle ItemEvaluate Sources with Google Scholar
Not all of the sources that you find on Google Scholar will be reliable, so it is important that you verify the quality of each source. There are actually two ways to do this using Google Scholar.
- Determine if the source has been positively cited by other reliable sources. You can who has cited your source by clicking on the "Cited By" link.
- Open the article or book and verify the quality of the sources that the article cites.
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Toggle ItemEvaluate Sources with Opposing Viewpoints
In addition to being a great resource to learn about a topic, Opposing Viewpoints contains curated lists of peer-reviewed academic articles that you can use in your papers.
Make sure to access this resource through the BYU Library website as this will give you full access to the resource. Follow these steps to gain access:
- Go to the BYU Library website.
- Log in using your Net ID by clicking on "Login" in the top right corner.
- Then search "Opposing Viewpoints" in the library home page search bar.
- Lastly, when the search results appear, click on "Opposing Viewpoints in Context."
Find the curated lists by clicking on a topic’s main page in the Academic Journals section.
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Toggle ItemLearn more about Source Evaluation
Read through the WRTG 150 learning module about Source Evaluation.