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The credibility of a source can be determined if you examine and assess the source using the following criteria: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose.
Currency
When was the information created or published? Do you need current information for the topic you are researching? If your paper is on a topic like cancer research, you would want the most recent information, but a topic such as World War II could use information written in a broader time range.
Relevance
Does this article relate to your topic? What connection can be made between the information that is presented and your thesis? An easy way to check for relevance is by reviewing the Abstract or summary of the article before downloading the entire article.
Authority
Does the information come from an author or organization that has authority to speak on your topic? What is the author's publication history? Has the information been peer-reviewed? Do they cite their credentials?
Accuracy
Be sure there is sufficient documentation to help you determine whether the publication is reliable including footnotes, bibliographies, credits, or quotations. Is the author citing credible sources? Are there spelling or grammatical errors?
Purpose
What is the purpose of the information? Are there political, cultural, religious or personal biases that seem to be influencing the information? Does the author appear to have any personal bias based on the tone of the language?
For additional information, or help evaluating sources, click here: https://germanna.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=75348555
