EVALUATING

SOURCES
OBJECTIVES:
• Identify the features of valid sources;
• Identify sources that are acceptable in
academic writing; and
• Locate sources effectively
WHY EVALUATING SOURCES

IS IMPORTANT?
 WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES

AND DISADVANTAGES OF EVALUATING

SOURCES?
ADVANTAGES
• To find the most relevant information for your topic and
assignment
• To ensure the quality and reliability of your research
• To find expert views, opinions, and research on your topic
• To weed out unreliable, biased, outdated, and/or incorrect
information
• To make sure you get the information your professor is
seeking
 DISADVANTAGES
• Time consuming
• Can be outdated
• Self-published books may be less reliable
• More difficult to access than some other resources
HOW TO EVALUATE SOURCES?
 CRITERIA IN
EVALUATING SOURCES
• Relevance (of the source to the research topic)
• Authority/Author’s Qualification
• Currency/Date of Publication
• Content/Accuracy of Information
• Location of Sources
Relevance
refers to: How Well the Information Meets Your Needs
Does the information answer your research question?
Does the information help you understand your topic better?
Is the source written at a level appropriate for your intended use?
*Check the title, table of contents, summary or headings of the text to
have a sense of its content.

Which of the following sources would you pick if you are doing a research on the
“Law of Supply and Demand”?
a. An Introduction to Theories on Economics
b. How to invest and get rich
c. 105 habits of Highly effective businessman
2. Improving One’s Proper Enunciation
a. Speech Communication
b. Reading and Writing
c. English for Specific and Professional Purposes
Authority/Author’s Qualification (Expertise of the Author)

• Is Author’s name identified?

• Does the author have the relevant expertise on the topic about which he/she
is writing? 
-Author’s background, education/training related to the topic?
• What makes this author an expert on this topic? publications
• Is the contact information of the author available?

Which of the following texts would you use for a research regarding the
Holocaust?
a. Dark shadows of the Past: A Comparative Study on the Holocaust and the
Death March by Mau Guevarra Ph.D. in History
b. Analyzing Nazism and Extremist Supremacy by Adolf Mussolini, RMD
Currency/Date of Publication
Refers to the Timeliness of the Information
*Date of publication should be current or at least 5 years earlier*
• Is this information you want to use current enough for your project?
• When was the information gathered and posted or published?
• Has the article or Web site content been revised or updated?
• On a Web site, do all the links work?

Q and A
Which material will you use for a research on electromagnetism?
a. Notes on recent researches in electricity on magnetism, 1853
b. Basics of electromagnetism, 2015
c. The foundation of studies in electromagnetism, 2009
d. Fundamentals of Physics, 2013
 For example,
• If you are writing a history paper about World War II?

using primary sources from the 1940s may be appropriate. Even

though the sources are 50 years old, it can be useful in the context of
your research. 
 Is the Source Current Enough For Your Purpose?
This CQ Researcher report prominently displays its publication date. Even though it’s from 2018,
the topic has evolved since then. For example, so much has happened regarding affordable housing
since the COVID-induced housing crisis.
Contents/Accuracy of Information
=refers to Whether or Not the Information Is Correct

• Is the information provided correct/accurate?

• Are there typos or grammatical errors on the page or site?
• Can you verify the information from your own knowledge or other sources?
• Are there other sources that verify the information? Is it supported by evidence?
• Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?

Which of these sources would you use for a research on Marxism?

a. The dark side of Marxism, Hen Sy
b. Karl Marx and the Fundamentals of Marxism, Fred Angle
c. Effects of Marxism in an industrialized world, Rick Carlos
Location of Sources

PUBLISHED DIGITALLY? OR IN PRINT?

DIGITAL PRINT
• Avoid using blogs, personal homepage or wiki • Complete address of the publishing
sites (Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikiquotes) • Information about the author
• Common URL • Email
(.gov .edu .org .net .com • Website
• ISBN
CRITERIA:
1. Accuracy (of the web documents) – content
2. Authority – credentials of the author
3. Objectivity – advertising? Biased?
4. Currency – check for dead links
5. Coverage – is it free? Or you have to pay to
view the page
 WHY EVALUATING SOURCES
IS IMPORTANT?
Evaluating information’s sources encourages us to
think critically about the:
 reliability,
 validity,
 accuracy,
 authority,
 timeliness, and
 point of view or bias of information sources. 
END OF DISCUSSION!!!