Columbia: Evaluating Sources

Why is it important to evaluate sources for credibility?

Quality information is only as good as the source from which you found it.

High quality information will always benefit your academic and professional career.

No standards exist to ensure the quality and accuracy of information on a web page.

Anyone can create and publish an Internet site, regardless of subject expertise or knowledge.

Print and online resources are often created to persuade the reader.

Scholarly articles – written by experts in the field. These experts will spend months or years researching prior to publishing an article. The purpose of a scholarly article is to publicize a discovery or inform colleagues

Popular articles – written by journalists. The author will spend a few weeks or days researching an article. The purpose of a popular article is to entertain their customers.

• Finding and Evaluating Health Information
• Medical Library Association | Resources : A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web
• Purdue OWL: Evaluating Sources of Information
• University of Southern California: Evaluating Resources
• University of Maryland University College Checklist for Evaluating Research Resources

RADAR: Relevance, Authority, Date, Accuracy, Rationale

Relevance

• Who is the audience?
• Does this relate to your topic?

Authority

• What are the author's credentials?
• Who is the author or publisher affiliated with?

Date

• Is the information current?
• Are links up-to-date or broken?

Accuracy

• Is the information peer-reviewed?
• Do the references support the rest of the article?

Relevance

• Does this match your topic/thesis?
• How complex is the information being presented? Too much, too little?

Currency
Is the information recent enough for your topic?

• Has it been published in the last x years?
• If you have a historical research topic, was it published around the date of the original event?

Relevance
Does the information apply to your topic?

• Does all of the information apply to your topic? or only part of it?
• Is the information general or detailed?
• Is the information balanced or biased?

Authority
Who authored this information?

• Was it a single person or several people?
• Was it a corporation or organization?Are their credentials provided?
• What is their reputation or expertise?

Accuracy
Where does the information come from?

• Who published the information?
• Was it peer-reviewed?
• Is it a primary or secondary source?
• Are methods or refrences provided?

Purpose/Point-of-View
What was the intent of the author, and how is the author connected to the information?

• Who is the intened audience?
• Is the information intended to inform, persuade, sell, entertain,...?
• Is this a first-hand account of an event or research?
• Does the author have a vested interest in the topic?