Chapter 4: Evaluating Resources
Introduction
When you are conducting research, the information that is found should always be evaluated for quality, credibility, and appropriateness. This is an important step in the research process, whether you are using a library or a search engine like Google. Not everything found on the Internet will be reliable, and although library resources are credible, it is possible that they will not be suitable for the topic or the type of assignment. The techniques described in this chapter can be used to decide whether or not a resource is right for you. The information in this chapter is adapted from the Learning Portal, created by College Libraries Ontario and released under a CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED license. More information about each of these techniques can be found by visiting the Learning Portal and looking at the “Research” section. A link to the Learning Portal can be found at the end of this chapter. Learn more about research and evaluating information in Research Like a Librarian: A How-to Guide. This open resource was created by staff in the Parrott Centre Library, and a link to the handbook can be found in the list of sources at the end of this chapter.
Tips for Evaluating Resources
Evaluate as You Search
Evaluate resources as they are found. This saves time, and it is a good way to practice these evaluation skills. Reviewing the assignment to understand the research question and the types of resources that are needed is also very important at this stage. The practice of filtering search results and evaluating search results go hand in hand. You can learn more about preparing to research in Chapter Two, and more about conducting research in Chapter Three.
Be Aware of Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is “[the] tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with [our] existing beliefs” (Casad & Luebering). It is very easy to focus on information that supports our views, and to ignore contrary information. It can also be very easy to interpret ambiguous information as supporting what we think is true, even when we do not intend to. Because it can be so easy to slip into these habits, it is very important to think critically about what we are searching for, what we are reading, and to think about how we interpret that information.
Be Aware of Filter Bubbles
Filter bubbles are different from confirmation bias, but they have a similar result. It is especially important to be aware of them when using a search engine like Google. Filter bubbles are created by electronic algorithms. They are personalized filters that are based on our search history, the websites we visit, the posts we comment on, or our location. These algorithms can dictate what we see online and what kinds of search results we get, and we are not even this it is happening. The Learning Portal explains the challenges created by filter bubbles:
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“As users, we don’t have much control on what gets into our filter bubble, and more importantly we don’t know what gets edited out by these algorithms. Filter bubbles could feed us an information diet with mostly “information desserts” and not much “information vegetables”. It poses the danger of intellectual isolation where we only see information that reinforces our views, or information that is within our comfort zones. This could potentially hinder our ability to think critically about a topic since algorithms have the power to edit out content which challenges or broadens our worldviews.”
How Can I Avoid Filter Bubbles?
The Learning Portal offers some techniques to reduce the effects of filter bubbles:
- Follow Different Voices: Get a balanced perspective on a topic by looking for different viewpoints. What are different people or groups saying about a topic? This can include looking at websites that cover diverse perspectives, and looking at social media feeds that offer more balanced viewpoints.
- Go Incognito: Use incognito browsers, regularly delete search histories, and if possible, log out of any social media accounts before searching.
- Delete Cookies: Browser cookies are files saved into our Internet browsers, and they can determine what we see on a particular website. Deleting cookies in a browser can reduce the effect of filter bubbles.
- Use the Library: The algorithms that create filter bubbles do not exist within library search software. Instead, the results you see are dictated by the words you use to search, and the filters you apply to your search results.
Practice Lateral and Vertical Reading
Lateral and vertical reading are two related techniques for evaluating information. Vertical reading involves examining a source to figure out how credible it is. It is often used for evaluating news stories, but it can be used to evaluate other types of resources too. Vertical reading includes techniques like examining a website’s About Us page, looking for grammatical or spelling errors in the article, determining the author‘s bias, and checking the sources the author(s) used. Because it is easy to create and fabricate online content, vertical reading works best when paired with lateral reading. While vertical reading involves examining the source itself, lateral reading involves going beyond the source and performing further research on the source, its authors, and the information being presented.
Tips for Reading Laterally and Vertically
The Learning Portal offers four tips for lateral and vertical reading:
- Investigate the Source: Look at what others are saying about the source or the author – not what the source or author are saying about themselves. One way to find this information is to try searching for the title of the source and the author’s name together.
- Find the Original Source: Find the original source of the information – where did the author find the information that they are reporting on or writing about? Once you have found the original source, you can work on verifying its credibility.
- Look for Trusted Sources: If you are evaluating a news resource, like a newspaper article or a news report, use fact-checking sites to see if the story has already been checked. You can also use a search engine or a library search to see if the story has been covered by major news sources.
- Practice “Click Restraint”: Before clicking on a search result, look closely at the URL; sometimes, the URL can give clues about the legitimacy of a source. It is also useful to look at information snippets about the source.
Use an Evaluation Checklist
There are different checklists that can be used to evaluate resources, including the CRAAP Test, the RADAR Framework, the 5 W Method, and SIFT, also called The Four Moves. Each of these checklists has advantages and disadvantages, and it can be helpful to try several of these on a single resource. You can learn more about these checklists using the links below:
- CRAAP Test: https://libguides.cmich.edu/web_research/craap
- RADAR Framework: https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/cinema/RADAR
- 5 W Method: https://langara.ca/library/research-help/evaluate-your-sources.html
- SIFT (The Four Moves): https://pressbooks.pub/webliteracy/chapter/four-strategies
Evaluate journal articles critically
Even articles published in academic journals should be evaluated for credibility and accuracy. Look at the different sections of the article, and critically evaluate the information shared by the authors. If a claim made in a journal article seems extreme, or if it’s at odds with what is widely believed to be true about a topic, try to find other articles that back up or dispute the claims being made. For example, one article may be published about the benefits of an alternative health method. However, consensus from various academic journals may dispute this claim. You can learn more about evaluating journal articles from The Learning Portal.
Evaluating Content
The techniques described so far help us to evaluate resources at a surface level. It is also essential to evaluate the content closely, especially if the resource will be used for an assignment. This includes looking at the purpose of the resource, its content, and at the author of the resource. Below are some criteria to consider, or, you can apply one of the evaluation checklists described above.
Purpose
Author
- Who is responsible for the content? Was it written by one person, an organization, or a group?
- What are the author’s qualifications?
- What organization is the author affiliated with?
- If the author is affiliated with an organization, what type of organization is this? Is it academic, a government agency or department, a commercial business, or is it personal?
- Who published the resource? Is it published or sponsored by a professional society or a university academic department, or was it published by another organization that might have a different agenda?
Content
- Is the topic of the resources narrowly focused and explored in-depth?
- Is the content of the resource based on either original research or authorities in the field, instead of personal opinion?
- Is the resource intended for readers with some prior knowledge of the subject?
- For articles, is the article divided into sections with headings such as introduction, background, methods, discussion, literature review, results, and conclusion?
What’s Next?
Once you have determined that a source is appropriate and credible, the information can be included in an essay or assignment. To include information from a source in an essay or assignment, it must be cited. You can learn more about citing sources correctly in Chapter Six.
The next chapter explains how each part of an assignment should be formatted, including title pages and reference lists.
Sources
Casad, B. J., & Luebering, J.E. (2023, August 18). Confirmation bias. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/confirmation-bias Retrieved on September 8, 2023.
College Libraries Ontario. (2023). Evaluate your resources. The Learning Portal. https://tlp-lpa.ca/research/evaluate-for-quality
College Libraries Ontario. (2023). Filter bubbles. The Learning Portal. https://tlp-lpa.ca/research/evaluate-for-quality
Dupuis, J. (2023). Research like a librarian: A how-to guide. Parrott Centre Library, Loyalist College of Applied Arts and Technology. https://loyalistcollege.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/delivery/01LOYALIST_INST:01LOYALIST/1269747200005116
Research is the process of finding and discovering knowledge to find answers to a question.
Resources, sometimes called sources, are sources of information; this is where information is found when conducting research. This can sometimes lead to confusion, because one of the pieces of information in a reference list entry is also called a source.
Bias is the tendency to believe that an idea, person or piece of information is better than others. Bias can be innate or learned. Bias usually results in ideas, information or people being treated unfairly, either in a positive or negative way.
A webpage (or web page) is a document that can be displayed in a web browser likeFirefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari. A website is a collection of web pages that are grouped together and usually connected in some day. A website is sometimes called a site.
Vertical reading is a techniques for evaluating sources of information. It involves examining a source to figure out how credible it is. It is often used for evaluating news stories, but it can be used to evaluate other types of resources too. Vertical reading includes techniques like examining a website's About Us page, looking for grammatical or spelling errors in the article, determining the author's bias, and checking the sources the author(s) used.
Academic journals, sometimes called “peer reviewed” or “scholarly” journals are ideal for finding in-depth current research in a specific area. They publish academic or scholarly articles. These articles are written by experts in a field of study. They’re longer, written in an academic style, use professional terminology and language, and the topic of the article is narrowly focused and explored in-depth. They’re heavy on text and light on illustration, but may contain charts, graphs, and other statistical data. The content in the article is typically based on either original research or authorities in the field, instead of personal opinion. Sources are well cited in a particular format, like APA Style, and there are both in-text citations or foot- or endnotes, and a bibliography or works cited page. Often, journal issues will have a volume and issue number – like Volume 6 Issue 4. Journal covers are usually plain with an emphasis on the key research articles in a particular issue.
In an APA Style citation, the author is the person or people, or the group responsible for creating the work. An author can be a single person, multiple people, a group like an institution or a government agency, or a combination of individuals and groups.
Lateral reading is a technique for evaluating sources of information. It involves going beyond the source and performing further research on the source, its authors, and the information being presented.
In an APA Style in-text citation or reference list entry, the title refers to the name of the work being cited.
A newspaper is a publication, usually issued daily or weekly, printed on large, folded sheets of newsprint, usually in black and white. They contain news, feature articles, advertisements, and correspondence. Many newspapers also publish articles online, and newspaper articles can sometimes be found in library databases. Newspaper articles are written by journalists who may or may not be experts in the subject of the article, and the articles are not peer-reviewed. The articles are written for a general audience, are free of technical jargon and easy to understand. They don’t always follow a specific structure, and don’t have foot- or endnotes, and don’t cite sources using a bibliography or works cited page.
URLs are persistent links to information on the Internet. URLs can be found in the address bar of the web browser.
Scholarly sources are written by an expert or experts in the field, intended for a specialized audience. Scholarly sources use discipline specific methods, terminology and theory to discuss and analyze original research. They often use technical language and specialized vocabulary. Scholarly sources are mostly accessible through libraries and online databases.
Popular sources of information that are readily available and can be consumed in quick doses. Popular sources are usually written by journalists and other writers who may not be specialists in the topic they’re writing about. Popular sources are usually written to inform, entertain or persuade the general public. They tend to use everyday language accessible to all types of readers and don’t usually include a list of references, even if they might refer to the resources they used indirectly.
A literature review is a summary and explanation of the current research – or literature – on a focused topic. A information being summarized and explained might be found in academic books, journal articles, or other sources connected to the subject of study. Literature reviews aim to provide an overview of sources that were explored while researching a particular topic. It shows readers how the research fits into a larger field of study.
Citing is the process of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas. This takes the form of a citation. Citations must include specific pieces of information and must follow a consistent format. There are two parts of a citation – the in-text citation, and the reference list entry.
In APA Style, the title page is the first page of a paper or other assignment. It contains the title of the paper, the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation. A student title page also includes the course number and name, instructor name, and assignment due date.
A reference list appears at the end of an assignment or essay, and it contains all of the reference list entries for information resources used for that assignment or essay.
