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Technical Documentation 1

Credible Sources and How to Spot Them

A credible source is free from bias and backed up with evidence. It is written by a trustworthy author
or organization. There are a lot of sources out there, and it can be hard to tell what’s credible and
what isn’t at first glance. Evaluating source credibility is important for your research. It ensures that
you collect accurate information to back up the arguments you make and the conclusions you draw.

How to identify a credible source

There are a few criteria to look at right away when assessing a source. Together, these criteria form
what is known as the CRAAP test.

• The information should be up-to-date and current.

• The source should be relevant to your research.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For web sources, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

The CRAAP test is a catchy acronym that will help you evaluate the credibility of a source you are
thinking about using. California State University developed it in 2004 to help students remember
best practices for evaluating content.

• Currency: Is the source up-to-date?

• Relevance: Is the source relevant to your research?
• Authority: Where is the source published? Who is the author? Are they considered reputable and
trustworthy in their field?
• Accuracy: Is the source supported by evidence? Are the claims cited correctly?
• Purpose: What was the motive behind publishing this source?

The criteria for evaluating each point depend on your research topic. For example, if you are
researching cutting-edge scientific technology, a source from 10 years ago will not be
sufficiently current. However, if you are researching the Peloponnesian War, a source from 200
years ago would be reasonable to refer to.

Be careful when ascertaining purpose. It can be very unclear (often by design!) what a source’s
motive is. For example, a journal article discussing the efficacy of a particular medication may seem
credible, but if the publisher is the manufacturer of the medication, you can’t be sure that it is free
from bias. As a rule of thumb, if a source is even passively trying to convince you to purchase
something, it may not be credible.

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Take a look at what sources the author cited. Are they trustworthy? As a bonus, investigating the
sources used may help you find new sources to add to your own bibliography.

Newspapers can be a great way to glean first-hand information about a historical event or situate
your research topic within a broader context. However, the veracity and reliability of online news
sources can vary enormously—be sure to pay careful attention to authority here.

When evaluating academic journals or books published by university presses, it’s always a good rule
of thumb to ensure they are peer-reviewed and published in a reputable journal.

What is Peer Review?

This process evaluates submissions to academic journals. A panel of reviewers in the same subject
area decide whether a submission should be accepted for publication based on a set of criteria. For
this reason, academic journals are often considered among the most credible sources you can use
in a research project– provided that the journal itself is trustworthy and well-regarded.

Where to find credible sources?

What sources you use depend on the kind of research you are conducting. For preliminary research
and getting to know a new topic, you could use a combination of primary, secondary, and tertiary
sources. Credible sources for preliminary research depending on your topic, consider starting with:

• Encyclopedias.
• Textbooks.
• Websites with .edu or .org domains.
• News sources with first-hand reporting.
• Research-oriented magazines like ScienceMag or Nature Weekly.

Academic Journals are often a great place to find trustworthy and credible content and are
considered one of the most reliable sources you can use in academic writing.

• Is the journal indexed in academic databases?

• Has the journal had to retract many articles?
• Are the journal’s policies on copyright and peer review easily available?
• Are there solid “About” and “Scope” pages detailing what sorts of articles they publish?
• Has the author of the article published other articles?
• Has the author been cited by other scholars? Google Scholar also has a function called “Cited By”
that can show you where the author has been cited. A high number of “Cited By” results can often
be a measurement of credibility.

Evaluating web sources

It can be especially challenging to verify the credibility of online sources. They often do not have
single authors or publication dates, and their motivation can be more difficult to ascertain.

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Websites are not subject to the peer-review and editing process that academic journals or books go
through and can be published by anyone at any time. When evaluating the credibility of a website,
look first at the URL. The domain extension can help you understand what type of website you’re
dealing with.

Website domain extensions

• Educational resources end in .edu and are generally considered the most credible in academic
settings.
• Advocacy or non-profit organizations end in .org.
• Government-affiliated websites end in .gov.
• Websites with some sort of commercial aspect end in .com (or .co.uk, or another country-specific
domain).

In general, check for vague terms, buzzwords, or writing that is too emotive or subjective. Beware
of grandiose claims and critically analyze anything not cited or backed up by evidence.

Some questions to ask yourself could include:

▪ How does the website look and feel? Does it look professional to you?
▪ Is there an “About Us” page, or a way to contact the author or organization if you need
clarification on a claim they have made?
▪ Are there links to other sources on the page, and are they trustworthy?
▪ Can the information you found be verified elsewhere, even via a simple Google search?
▪ When was the website last updated? If it hasn’t been updated recently, it may not pass the
CRAAP test.
▪ Does the website have a lot of advertisements or sponsored content? This could be a sign of bias.
▪ Is a source of funding disclosed? This could also give you insight into the author and publisher’s
motivations.

Social media posts, blogs, and personal websites can be good resources for a situational analysis or
grounding of your preliminary ideas, but exercise caution here. These highly personal and subjective
sources are seldom reliable enough to stand on their own in your final research product.

Similarly, Wikipedia is not considered a reliable source due to the fact that it can be edited by
anyone at any time. However, it can be a good starting point for general information and finding
other sources.

By: Tegan George

On: https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/credible-sources/

+34 672 693 303 / info@formatoeducativo.com / www.formatoedu.com