How can these help you assess the credibility of your source of information?

This video provides an overview for determining if a source is credible and why it is important to use credible sources.

Students often receive research assignments requiring the use of credible sources. But what does it mean for a source to be "credible"? Why is it important to use these sources? And how can you tell if a source is credible? When we describe a source as "credible," we’re basically saying that the information is high quality and trustworthy. Essentially, that we can believe what the source is telling us. When you use high-quality sources to back up your points, you demonstrate your own credibility as a writer, thereby contributing to the overall effectiveness of your argument. The best quality research builds on other high quality research. This is true of both your own work and the work of professional researchers. There are several factors that contribute to a source's credibility. Among them are the author's level of expertise, her point of view, and the source's publication date. The author's level of expertise on the topic he or she is writing about could take the form of an advanced degree or other extensive experience in the field. A credible source often provides information about the author's credentials. Sometimes, however, the author's credentials may not be listed, and the publication itself can be the marker of quality. This is often true for some non-scholarly publications like well-respected newspapers and magazines, where the article's content is critically examined as part of the publication process. Another important component of a source's credibility is its point of view, in particular its potential bias. Bias is an inaccurate or unfair presentation of information. In some cases, bias is intentional. A group with its own agenda may sponsor research or information, and this sponsorship may influence the results. Bias can also be unintentional. A writer's perspective may prevent him or her from being able to see all sides of an issue. Sometimes you need unbiased facts to support your point. But other times you might want people's opinions, and that's OK as long as you acknowledge the source's perspective in your work. While bias can be difficult to detect, be aware that it can exist in any kind of source, including things you find through the library. In the academic publishing world, books and articles go through a rigorous editorial process in which an editor or group of scholars evaluate the work's quality. When it comes to journal articles, this process is called peer review. Peer-reviewed articles are considered high quality, because the review process helps to filter out sources that are written by unqualified or biased authors. Finally, with any source, consider when it was published or last updated. Even something that was once high-quality can now be out-of-date and unsuitable for some purposes. If I needed current statistics on the average cost of college in the United States, a source published in the 1990s would be out of date. However, if I were looking at the the increase in college tuition over the last few decades, a source from the 1990s might fit my purposes. Of course, not every credible source is appropriate for your research. Be sure to evaluate not only a source's trustworthiness, but also its appropriateness for your argument. This work by North Carolina State University Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

To find out whether or not a source is credible, you must evaluate the source. In addition to answering the questions found in the What Makes a Source Credible section, you should also look closely at what the author is actually saying in the article. Read through the article and answer these questions about the content of the article to evaluate whether or not you think this article is a valid, credible source. Looking at the validity of the argument being made in the source is an important part of credibility because even if the source meets all of the criteria in the Authority, Accuracy, Currency, Coverage, and Objectivity sections, if the argument being made is not valid, not convincing, or poorly constructed, then the source itself is not credible.

1. Who is the intended audience (who would be the typical reader of the article)? Use the About Us section to learn more about the publication and see who might be a typical audience member. Does the author successfully reach this audience?

2. What is the genre of the argumentative essay (letter to the editor, magazine article, scientific report etc.) and why do you think the author chose this format? How does the genre of the piece contribute to (or detract from) the claim(s) the author is making?

3. What is the author’s main argument? Are there any other arguments he/she is making?

4. List all the evidence that you can identify that the author uses to support his argument. What are the main types of evidence (statistics, personal opinion, interviews, etc.) that the author relies on? Why do you feel the writer has chosen to use these sources? Is the evidence convincing for most of the audience?

5. Identify and explain counterarguments (the people who disagree with the author's point of view). Does the author prove why the counterarguments are incorrect? If no counterarguments are included, why do you think the author chose not to include them

6. Examine and discuss the rhetorical devices that the author uses such as illustrations and examples, the tone of the paper (emotional, detached, impassioned, matter-of-fact etc.) the organization of the paper, and stylistic decisions such as word choice, the inclusion of humor, illustrations, quotations or other literary devices.

7. What, if any, logical fallacies are there in this article? How do these fallacies, if present, affect the author's argument? Do they make it weaker or stronger? Do the fallacies make the article seem more or less credible? Why?

8. Finally, state whether or not the argument was convincing to you and tell why or why not. How, specifically, in your opinion, did the author make the argument effective or how, in your opinion, did he/she fail to make it effective?

Once you have answered all of these questions and the questions in the Authority, Accuracy, Currency, Coverage, and Objectivity sections, you can make a judgment on the credibility of the source.

Now that you're familiar with what makes a source credible, go to the Tutorial to practice determining credibility.

How can these help you assess the credibility of your source of information accuracy?

How would you assess the credibility of the report's source?