Evaluate Your Sources
Look for the following information about your source. You may not always find everything on this list. If you cannot find this information about your source, it may no be the best source. You can also contact a librarian in the Need Help? tab for help with evaluating sources.
1. Author's Qualifications
Who is this author? What do you know about their credentials? Why are they a reliable source of information on this topic? Are they an expert in this subject? Do they have an advanced degree from a university? Do they have lots of experience in this subject? To learn more about your author, Google their name. You might find their LinkedIn page.
2. Publisher or Sponsor
Examine the publisher of the book, periodicals, or website. What do you know about them? Have you heard of them? Are they reputable? Well-known in this field? Biased on the topic?
3. Bias
How biased is this source? Look at the author and the publisher - are they associated with an agency that would make them biased on this topic? Are they only telling you one side of the argument? Are they giving objective facts or opinion? Where are they getting their information from (what are their sources)?
4. Evidence/Sources
Where is the author of this article getting their information? Do they cite sources? Do their sources look reliable/official or biased or not authoritative? If the author cites no sources, are they relying on their own expertise or first-hand experience?
5. Date
Look at the date of the source, how current is it?
Some subjects need to be more current than others (i.e. current events, health information, and technology go out of date very quickly, but something historical would be much longer).
6. Audience
Who is the audience this source is geared to? Is it children, students, the general public, experts in a field, scholars and academics?
For more information about assessing sources, see our research guide for Evaluating Sources or see our Evaluating Sources Tutorial.