Evaluating Sources ENG 1320 Spring 2015 Laura Sims This PowerPoint goes over guidelines for evaluating sources and the differences between scholarly and popular sources. At the end, I ask students to evaluate three articles that they have previously read in class. Only Barbara Wilson’s article is scholarly.

Key terms Kinds of sources Categories for evaluating sources: Primary source or secondary source Scholarly source or popular source Categories for evaluating sources: Currency Motivation and bias Author’s credentials and stance Publisher’s credentials and stance Accountability Audience Purpose

Currency How current your information should be depends on your purpose. For a history paper, you want to look at older primary sources and newer secondary sources. Look at newspaper articles from the 1960s to know what perspectives were during the Civil Rights Movements (primary sources). Look at scholarly articles from the last ten years to learn about the recent findings and arguments on this topic (secondary sources). For many fields, you should only use articles or books from the last ten years, unless the work is considered foundational. In some fields, like computer science, experts consider articles from 2005 outdated. In others, like English literature, experts are more likely to think that articles from 2005 are still relevant. One example of a foundational work in psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1899.

Motivation and Bias “Scientists and humanists alike have axes to grind, corporations have products to sell, bureaucracies have power to maintain, politicians have policies and candidacies to promote, journalists have reputations to make, media owners and editors have readers, listeners, viewers, and advertisers to attract and avoid offending” (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz 428). Every writer has a motive. Be aware of the writer’s motive and evaluate his or her use of evidence, especially in comparison to other writers.

Author Credentials Stance and fairness What is the author’s job? What else has the author written? Where has the author published his or her writing? Try looking them up on the Web if this information is not available on the source itself. Stance and fairness Read the author’s position carefully. Make sure that you don’t misrepresent the author’s views in an effort to prove your own points! The author’s views will also affect what research and data he or she includes. Look at a variety of authors to get a broader perspective. Does the author consider alternative points of view when presenting his or her argument? How are these views presented?

Publisher Credentials Stance Reorder the following sources by credibility: The New York Times, The University Star, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Wild West History (blog), Sports Illustrated Articles printed in anthologies or textbooks are often reprinted from another source. Look at the original source data to determine the original publisher’s credentials. Stance Like authors, publishers often have a particular stance and will only publish articles that support that position. Some publishers are associated with special-interest groups, such as Greenpeace or the National Rifle Association. A magazine titled Save the Planet! will have an obvious stance, but for other sources, you may need to read between the lines. Ask, “What are the goals of the source?” The credibility of the sources is not as clear-cut as it seems. Students will likely come up with a variety of orders, and almost all students put the blog at the bottom of the list. However, many academics are starting to write blogs, and an article from The University Star would be a credible source for student views on limited parking at Texas State. Ultimately, I try to show students that the main difference lies between the academic journal and all of the other sources.

Scholarly or Popular? Scholarly sources, as defined by the Bedford Handbook, “are written by experts for a knowledgeable audience and usually go into more depth than books and articles written for a general audience” (Hacker and Sommers 545). Academic books Articles published in academic journals or academic books Popular sources cover general information about a topic and are intended for a general audience. Newspapers, magazines, most Web sites, self-help books, etc. To determine if a source is scholarly, consider the following: Accountability: How do you know the information provided is reliable? Audience: Who will read this text? Purpose: Why is this text being published?

Scholarly sources Accountability Audience Purpose Considered more accurate because they have experts check the information in every article (peer-reviewed or refereed) Cite their sources (look for footnotes or a works cited page) Detailed descriptions of research methods Authors are academics or scientists Audience Intended for an educated, critical audience Found in university libraries more often than popular bookstores Purpose To explore ideas, share research, and add to academic conversations

Popular sources Accountability Audience Purpose The fact-checking process is not as transparent. Don’t always cite their sources Authors often don’t have as much time to work on a piece, so they have less time for research Authors are not usually specialists in the field they are reporting on Audience Intended for a general audience Available in popular bookstores, grocery store checkout lines Purpose Purpose: to gain readers, sell the newspaper

Web publishing Universities like Texas State subscribe to online databases like JSTOR and Academic Source Complete. These databases often include articles from both scholarly and popular sources. The name of the journal or magazine, and whether or not it is peer-reviewed, will often reveal the publisher’s credentials. When looking at Web sites (not databases connected to the library), pay attention to the same details (author, publisher, accountability, audience, purpose, and currency). You can also pay attention to the domain name extension in the URL (.com, .edu, .org, .gov, .net) If the site is trying to sell you something, then it is usually not considered very reliable See examples BH pg. 550-551

Practice Directions: In a group, evaluate each of the following articles according to the numbered guidelines below. Choose one person to record your answers and write the names of all group members at the top of the page. “I h8 txt msgs” by John Humphrys “2b or Not 2b?” by David Crystal “Designing Media Messages About Health and Nutrition” by Barbara Wilson Guidelines: How current is the article? What are the author’s credentials? What are the credentials of the original publisher? Based on what you know about the author and the original publisher, what can you determine about the article’s intended audience? Does the author cite his or her sources? Is this a popular or scholarly source?