Skip to Main Content

CADR 200 (LaChance)

Guide for CADR200: Foundations of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, specifically with Professor La Chance.

Evaluating Your Sources

You may encounter many types of information in your research, including newspaper articles, magazines, trade publications (news for a specific field), videos, and online websites.

It is important to carefully evaluate all sources you encounter, but especially those you find outside the library databases or sources you find that are not peer-reviewed.

Reminders for Evaluating Sources

Differences between scholarly and popular sources

You will need to find scholarly articles to serve as a solid base for any arguments you make in your paper. Databases have all kinds of articles in them, not just peer reviewed sources. Use the criteria below to help you figure out if a particular article is scholarly or not.

Note that a peer reviewed journal is only one piece of confirming an article has been peer-reviewed. Even scholarly journals have opinion pieces, book  reviews, product reviews, etc.

Author

Scholarly: Can always tell who wrote it; the author is an expert in the field with available credentials.
Popular: Name or credentials may not be provided; has little to no expertise on the subject.

Audience

Scholarly: Written in jargon for other professionals in the field to understand.
Popular: Written in non-technical language anyone can understand.

Editor

Scholarly: Reviewed by a board of experts (peer review).
Popular: Reviewed not by experts in the field but by a staff editor.

Citations

Scholarly: Sources are referenced with in-text citations and a bibliography.
Popular: References to outside sources are rare and do not include a bilbiography.

Length

Scholarly: Longer articles with in-depth analysis, generally at least five pages long.
Popular: Shorter articles with a broader topic focus.

Format

Scholarly: Clear sections like an abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, and bibliography. May include illustrations that directly support the text like a table or graph.
Popular: Does not follow any particular structure. Images may be glossy color photographs or include advertisements.

A way to remember what to look for: CRAAP

The CRAAP test is just one method for determining what kind of quality a resource is. It's useful for all resources, but especially so for anything you find outside of academic sources. 

Additionally, if you're uncertain about the trustworthiness of a news article, you can consult a reliable fact-checking group such as the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart or Allsides Media Bias Ratings.

Currency

  • When was the information published or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or updated?
  • Does your topic require current information or will older sources work as well?
  • Are the links functional?

Relevancy

  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or too advanced for your needs)?
  • Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
  • Would you be comfortable citing this source in your research paper?

Authority

  • Who is the author, publisher, source, and/or sponsor?
  • What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
  • Is the author qualified to write on this topic?
  • Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
  • Are the links functional?

Accuracy

  • Where does the information come from?
  • Is the information supported by evidence?
  • Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
  • Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
  • Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
  • Are there spelling, grammar, or typographical errors?

Purpose

  • What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain, or persuade?
  • Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
  • Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?
  • Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
  • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

This is adapted from "Applying the CRAAP Test" by the Meriam Library at California State University, Chico.