1. The Theory of Relativity
Evaluating Sources
The Theory of Relativity

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

3. 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.

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

5. 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.

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

7. 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

8. 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