- St. Olaf Libraries
- Research Guides
- First-Year Seminar 120S: Race and the Supernatural in Performance
- Evaluating Source Credibility
First-Year Seminar 120S: Race and the Supernatural in Performance
LibKey Nomad
Research and Instruction Librarian for Music & Fine Arts
Evaluating Sources
Sometimes your research topic is so new or so specific, it is hard to find scholarly sources for it. For example, if you're researching a film or song that came out last year, there hasn't been enough time to publish a fully peer-reviewed paper on that topic.
In that instance, you may find yourself relying on other kinds of sources: blogs, non-scholarly magazine articles, and so on. When you use these materials, you want to ask yourself: How credible is this source?
Even if the resource hasn't been peer-reviewed, you can look for clues to tell you if the information is reliable. The infographic below offers tips for evaluating a source.
Is My Source Credible? - An Infographic
Is My Source Credible? - PDF
Is My Source Credible? - Alt Text
EVALUATING CREDIBILITY
Can I use this in my research?
How do you know if you can use something as a source? See below, and check for each of these points.
AUTHOR
Who wrote the text?
Can you easily find the author, or is this information unclear and/or missing? What are the author's credentials?
DATE
When was this written or last updated?
Does the information seem current?
ACCURACY
Are there spelling or grammar errors?
Does the author cite their sources?
Can you verify that the information is true?
PUBLISHER INFO
Who is the publisher?
Could this company have an influence on the information presented?
ANY BIAS?
Is the source objective, or biased?
How much bias is there? Are they trying to sell you something, or advance an agenda?
AUDIENCE
Who is the author writing for: students, researchers, consumers, or a different group?
CONCLUSION
If you notice a lot of bias, missing or inaccurate information, and/or the source lacks credibility, don't use it for your research.