Before you look for sources, it is best to have an idea of the criteria that you will use for evaluation. In general, you need to make sure that the each source you select is relevant to your project and that you trust the authority of the creators. The table below can help you make decisions about which sources to select using the acronym CARS.
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Credibility
Credibility determines whether a resource is reliable and believable.
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Indicators that a source is credible include:
- A clearly listed author(s)
- Authors who are experts in the subject matter
- A peer-review publishing process
- Well organized content that it easy to read and follow
- Content that is free of grammatical and spelling errors
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Accuracy
Accuracy determines whether a resource is comprehensive, up-to-date, and informative.
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Indicators that a source is accurate include:
- Facts, statistics, and figures rather than generalizations
- A clearly listed publication date, particularly if that date is recent
- Not all older information is inaccurate. You will determine this by discipline. Decades old content might be beneficial for a historical topic. However, newer information is important for topics such as cybersecurity.
- Acknowledgement and response to opposing viewpoints.
- Be careful of resources that only state and encourage a specific perspective. For example, a story that discusses the issue of substance abuse as a personal failure but does not address the perspective of addiction as a disease may not be an accurate source. This is also true the other way around. Seek well-rounded sources with multiple perspectives.
- Acknowledgement of all relevant information
- Be aware of sources that appear to leave out important information in order to persuade, mislead, or deceive you.
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Reasonableness
Reasonableness determines whether a source is fair, consistent, moderate, and objective.
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Indicators that a source is reasonable include:
- A professional tone
- Avoid sources where the author uses emotional or aggressive language. Name calling or making rash accusations is not an indicator of a reasonable source.
- Reasonable data that does not contradict itself
- The absence of sweeping generalizations
- "Everyone knows that this is a huge issue..."
- Reasonable discussion about the data
- Avoid data or information that overclaims with statements such as "this is the most important medical research in decades" or "if this issue is not solved, thousands of Americans will be homeless."
- No Conflict of interest
- Avoid resources with a clear conflict of interest. For example, if a TV doctor is selling weight loss pills, and he writes an article stating that the pills are effective according to his observations, this is a conflict of interest. He is financially invested in the success of the product, so you cannot reasonably trust his statement.
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Support
Support determines whether the information can be corroborated by external authorities and information. |
Indicators that a source has support include:
- A list of references at the end of the resource
- Look for sources where the author provides evidence, including statistics, figures, and data that back up the information. Ensure the provided resources are from legitimate sources.
- Corroboration with other reliable sources
- Look at other well-known sources of information and see if they also confirm the information.
- Accurate direct quotes
- When possible, read the article an author used for a direct quote. Did the quote accurately represent the information or did the author cherry pick the quote the manipulate the reader?
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