Evaluating

Sources
Week 2 - Lesson 3
English for Academic and Professional Purposes
 Welcome to class!
Our Learning Agenda are Our Learning Goals are the
the following: following:

 



1. RELEVANCE 3. CONTENT OR
ACCURACY OF INFORMATION

2. AUTHORITY OR 4. CURRENCY OR
AUTHOR'S QUALIFICATION DATE OF PUBLICATION

5. LOCATION OF SOURCES
1. Relevance of the Source to the Topic
Answers the question:
 “How well does the source support your topic?”

 What to do?
Check the title, table of contents,
summary/abstract, introduction, or headings
of the text to have a sense of its content.
Check for relevance:

Which of the sources would you pick if you are

doing a research on the Law of Supply and Demand?

a. An Introduction to Theories in Economics.

b. How to Invest Money and Secure Products?

c. “105 Habits of a Highly Effective Businessman”

2. Authority/Author’s Qualifications
Answers the questions:
 Is the author’s name identified?
 Is the author’s background, education, or training related to topic?
 Is he or she a professor in a reputable university?
 What are his/her publications?
 Is the contact information of the author available?

What to do?
 Check the university’s website to make sure that the
author/professor is associated with it.
 Publications from professors are usually reliable.
 Legitimate publications include citations.
Check For Author’s Qualifications:
Which of the following 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; authored by Mao Guevarra,
PhD in History

b. Analyzing Nazism and Extremist Supremacy; authored by

Sarah Drew, SHS Student
3. Currency / Date Publication
Answers the question:
 “What is the date of the publication?”

What to do?
 In most fields, the data from older publications may
no longer be valid. As much as possible, the date of
publication should be at most five years earlier.
Check for Currency:
Which Material will you use for a research on
Electromagnetism?
a. Notes on Recent Researches in Electricity and
Magnetism, 1853
b. Basics of Electromagnetism, 2017
c. The Foundation of Studies in Electromagnetism, 2009
d. Fundamentals of Physics, 2014
4. Contents/Accuracy Of Information
Answers the question:
 Does the author have a lot of citations in his/her text
and/or bibliography or works cited section?
 What is the tone and style of the writing?
 Is the information accurate?
 Is the information obviously biased?
What to do?
 The tone must be formal.
 Verify your findings with multiple sources.
 The author has no personal agenda.
Check for Accuracy:
Which of these sources would you use for a research on
Introduction of Marxism?

a. The Dark Side of Marxism; authored by Lesley Kim

b. Karl Marx and the Fundamentals of Marxism; authored
by Odette Carlos
c. Effects of Marxism in an Industrialized World;
authored by Jelly Saavedra
5. Location of Sources
Answers the question:
 Where is the source published? Digitally or in print?
 Is it a book, an academic journal, or a reputable news source?
 Does it provide complete publication information?
 What is the URL of the website?

What to do?
 Avoid using blogs or personal homepage and wiki
sites.
 The URL includes top-level domain “.edu”
 In academic writing, reputable sites are those with
.gov, .org.,.edu and .net.
Check Location of Sources
Which of these online sources would you consider
using for your research paper?

a. www.heyheyheynewsinquirer.com
b. www.tokyouniversity.edu
c. www.science.wordpress.com
d. www.upd.edu.ph
TIW TWO KINDS
OF SOURCES
 Primary Source
 Secondary Source
 1. Primary Source
• First-hand information/evidence
• Reports of scientific discoveries and
experiments and research results in
the social sciences.
• Original thinking
• Authoritative
 Examples:
• Diaries
• journals
• government documents (e.g. census information, birth
certificate)
• photograph,
• interviews
• Surveys
• paintings,
• literary writings (poems, novels),
• scientific publications of experiments, artifacts,
• audio/video recordings.
 2. SECONDARY SOURCES
• Second-hand accounts of events or
interpretations and analyses of
creative or scientific works.
• Often lacks freshness and immediacy
of the original material.
 Examples:

• Biographies
• journal articles on the historical, cultural, political,
or social importance of particular subjects
• article reviews
• research publications on the significance or analysis
of scientific or political experiments.
Remember:
a. Sources that have no relevance to
your research problem should not
be used.
b. Sources that have reference
citations are credible.
c. Sources whose author is not
reputable are useless.
d. Outdated sources should not be
used in writing academic
paper/research.
e. Sources used as reference should
be credible.
Remember:
f. Sources found in peer-reviewed
are credible.
g. Sources found in television or
magazine may not be trusted.
h. Sources not written by experts
are not valid.
i. Sources published should be use
as reference.
j. Sources that are personal and can
be edited are acceptable if they
cite their reference.
Thank you for attending
today’s class!

Is everything clear so far ? Ask questions.