The Theory of Relativity Evaluating Sources The Theory of Relativity

How to Evaluate Ask yourself whether the source is relevant appropriate credible given your particular topic and how you intend to use the source.

Relevance In order to determine relevance, you must first have an approrpiately narrow topic/issue. A source should be a part of the conversation your paper is synthesizing.

Appropriateness and Credibility External Indicators Internal Indicators author’s credentials publisher publication date cited by others? bias logical reasoning methods documentation

What kinds of sources should I use? For descriptive issues, sources should be scholarly unless you have a good reason to include non- scholarly sources. For prescriptive issues, you have more leeway in choosing your sources but must consider appropriateness and credibility much more closely.

What is “scholarly”? Peer-reviewed University- or research institution-affiliated Credentialed researchers Documentation of methods and sources

Possible Exceptions (for descriptive issues) Maybe Okay Not Okay Industry journals Independent research institution publications (think tanks, etc.) Government documents Magazine articles Newspaper articles Most webpages

Possible Sources (for prescriptive issues) Op-eds, essays, and other newspaper features Feature-length magazine articles, especially from snooty magazines Blog posts by recognized experts or published on organizational blogs rather than personal ones Speeches Publications from relevant organizations, think tanks, and interest groups