LESSON 3

Evaluating Sources
Which will you choose for credible
information?
 Credible sources of information

Free/ Open Access Academic Journals:

What makes a source or text credible?
Let’s Play!

Credible o r Incredible
Source ?
Title: “Farting as a defense against unspeakable dread”

➤ Author: Mara Sidoli, PhD

➤ Publisher: Journal of Analytical
➤ Psychology Publication date: April 1996
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-
Cited
5922.1996.00165.x
➤
references
 Title: “Insomnia”

➤ Author: no author
➤ Publisher: wikipedia.org
➤ Date of publication: July 1, 2018 last
edited
➤ With references
Title: “Chickens prefer beautiful humans”

➤ Authors: Stefano Ghirlanda, Liselotte Janson,

Magnus Enquist
➤ Publisher: Stockholm University, Zoology
➤ institution Publication date: April 15, 2004
➤ http://cogprints.org/5272/1/
ghirlanda_jansson_enquist2002.pdf
➤ With references
Title: Procrastination: 3 reasons it’s worse than
you ever thought it was

➤ Author:Skylar Anderson (passionate about

equipping students to succeed)
➤ Publisher: studyright.net
➤ Date of publication: no date
➤ No references
➤ Title: The effect of games and simulations on higher education: a systematic literature review

➤ Author: Dr. Dimitrious Vlachopolous andAgoritsa Makri

➤ Publisher: International Journal of EducationalTechnologyinHigherEducation

➤ Date of publication:July10,2017
➤ With references
 Title: Doubling down on food fortification to fortify the future

➤ Author: Greg Garrett, Dipika Matthias, Emily Keats, Mduduzi Mbuya, Eric Woabe (Gates Foundation)

➤ Publisher: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

➤ Date of publication: nodate
➤ With references
 Title: Factors affecting career choices of college students enrolled in Agriculture

➤ Author: Darren Fizer

➤ Publisher: Master thesis submitted to the University of Tennessee

➤ Date of publication: December2013
➤ With references
 Title: 'Green' colonialism is ruining Indigenous lives in Norway (Opinion page)

➤ Author: Eva Marie Fjellheim and Florian Carl

➤ Publisher: Al Jazeera.com
➤ Date of publication: August1,2020
➤ No references
 Title: Exercise and mental health

➤ Author: no author

➤ Publisher: Healthdirect. gov.au

➤ Date of publication: November2019
➤ With references
If you’re going to research on food, which material will you
consider as the credible source of information? Why?
How to evaluate sources
Do the CRAAP test!

C urrency

elevance

A uthority

A ccuracy
➤ With peer
P urpose
reviews
➤ Contains high quality
content
➤ Published by a credible university or
https://libguides.spokanefalls.edu/econ/Credible_sources
https://stcloud.lib.minnstate.edu/subjects/guide.php?subject=COLL110
Evaluating Sources

https://uaccm.libguides.com/Research_argumentative/find_websites
Scholarly and Popular Materials
Scholarly Journal Popular Magazine Trade Magazine/Journal

https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/scholarly-popular/
Scholarly and Popular Materials
Non-credible sources
Ask yourself:
➤ Is the source believable?
➤ Is the evidence strong enough to support your
argument?
➤ Who is the writer/author?
➤ Is the writer bias?
➤ What is the purpose?
➤ Wikipedia, personal blogs, dummies.com ?
 Title: “Farting as a defense against unspeakable dread”

Incredible Source
Publication date is not current
Considered credible from 1997-2006

➤ Author: Mara Sidoli, PhD

➤ Publisher: Journal of Analytical
➤ Psychology Publication date: April 1996
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-
Cited
5922.1996.00165.x
➤
references
 Title: “Insomnia”

Incredible S o u r c e
• Lacks authority
• Data can be edited by anyone

➤ Author: no author
➤ Publisher: wikipedia.org
➤ Date of publication: July 1, 2018 last
edited
➤
 Title: “Chickens prefer beautiful humans”

Incredible Source
Publication date is not current
Considered credible from 2005- 2014

➤ Authors: Stefano Ghirlanda, Liselotte Janson, Magnus

➤ Enquist Publisher: Stockholm University, Zoology institution
➤ Publication date: April 15, 2004
➤ http://cogprints.org/5272/1/ghirlanda_jansson_enquist2002.pdf
➤

Cited references
Title: “Procrastination: 3 reasons it’s worse than
you ever thought it was ”

Incredible S o u r c e
• Lacks authority
• Publisher is not credible institution
• No publication date
• No references

➤ Author:Skylar Anderson (passionate about

equipping students to succeed)
➤ Publisher: studyright.net
➤ Date of publication: no date
➤ No references
➤ Title: The effect of games and simulations on higher education: a systematic literature review

➤ Author: Dr. Dimitrious Vlachopolous andAgoritsa Makri

➤ Publisher: International Journal of EducationalTechnologyinHigherEducation

➤ Date of publication:July10,2017
➤ With references
 Incredible S o u r c e

• Authors are employees of the

foundation (bias)
• No publication date
• Publisher is not an expert on
health.
• But Gates Foundation is a
credible foundation.

 Title: Doubling down on food fortification to fortify the future

➤ Author: Greg Garrett, Dipika Matthias, Emily Keats, Mduduzi Mbuya, Eric Woabe (Gates Foundation)

➤ Publisher: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

➤ Date of publication: nodate
➤ With references
 Incredible S o u r c e

• Credible from the year

2010-2015
• Outdated but
information is credible
as a master’s thesis.

 Title: Factors affecting career choices of college students enrolled in Agriculture

➤ Author: Darren Fizer

➤ Publisher: Master thesis submitted to the University of Tennessee

➤ Date of publication: December2013
➤ With references
 Incredible S o u r c e

• Credible publisher and

authors
• Current information
• No references
• Opinion

 Title: 'Green' colonialism is ruining Indigenous lives in Norway (Opinion page)

➤ Author: Eva Marie Fjellheim and Florian Carl ( Phd student and enrvironment advocate)

➤ Publisher: Al Jazeera.com
➤ Date of publication: August 1, 2020
➤ No references
 Incredible S o u r c e

• Credible website
• Current information
• No author
 Title: Exercise and mental health

➤ Author: no author

➤ Publisher: Healthdirect. gov.au

➤ Date of publication: November2019
➤ With references
Summary:
How to evaluate sources:

C urrency

elevance

A uthority

A ccuracy
➤ With peer
P urpose
reviews
➤ Contains high quality
content
➤ Published by a credible university or
 Credible sources of information

Free/ Open Access Academic Journals: