It is important to evaluate the sources you choose carefully. Consider what you are looking for and why.
What makes a source "good?" That's subjective! It all depends on your research need. Some research calls for scholarly journals and some research calls for biographic information or primary sources like newspaper articles. Consider your assignment and the argument you are trying to make.
Below are some important questions to ask yourself about the information you encounter and the different type
s of sources and their uses.
Scholarly Publications: A scholarly publication contains articles written by experts in a particular field. The primary audience of these articles is other experts. These articles generally report on on original research or case studies. Many of these publications are ""peer reviewed." This means that scholars in the same field review the research and findings before the article is published. Articles in scholarly publications, in most cases are written for faculty, researchers, or other experts in a field and use scholarly language.
Popular Sources (News and Magazines): There are many occasions on which reading articles from popular sources can help to introduce you to a topic and introduce you to how that topic is being discussed in society. They are mostly written by journalists or professional writers for a general audience and in a language that the general public can understand. Look out for bias-- they may contain an argument or opinion.
Professional/Trade Sources are generally for practitioners and are focused on a specific field, but are not intended to be scholarly. Rather, they communicate the news and trends in that field.
Books/Book Chapters: Many academic books will be edited by an expert or group of experts for a thorough investigation of a topic.
Whether you think of it or not, you evaluate sources every day. You make decisions with what you know based on the information you need and the people or institutions you know you can get the information from. Here are some things to keep in mind when gathering information from various sources.
Use the CRAAP test when trying to identify whether a source is credible and relevant to your research.