Evaluating Sources: Home

The sources you use in any type of argument reflect on what you are trying to say. You use sources in your writing to support and give context to your own knowledge. Using a source that is not considered reliable renders the rest of your argument invalid. Deciding what is reliable and what isn't requires more than following a few simple guidelines. It requires critical thinking to fully evaluate the information that is being presented.

Following are some terms often used to describe articles. You will want to understand what these terms mean as you evaluate sources.

• scholarly - an article that is academic in nature
• peer-reviewed - an article that has been reviewed and evaluated by someone with knowledge of the subject or field
• primary research article - an article that reports on a research study that the author(s) conducted themselves
• secondary research article - an article that discusses or synpopsizes other research studies (such as a literature review)
• quantitative research article - an article that reports on a research study where numerical analysis was used
• qualitative research article - an article that reports on a research study where subjective or narrative data was used