4.4: Evaluating Sources

Make an Initial Assessment

Before you begin reading a source closely, pause for a moment and examine it from a distance. Most researchers make a preliminary assessment before deciding whether a source deserves a careful reading. This doesn't mean rushing to judgment. Instead, it helps you decide whether the source is worth a deeper investment of your time.

As you preview a source, ask yourself questions like these:

After this initial assessment, decide how you want to proceed.

• Read. The source appears relevant, credible, and likely to strengthen your project. Read it carefully, annotate it, and take notes.
• Save for Later. The source looks promising, but it may not be your highest priority right now. Keep it in case your research takes a new direction.
• Set It Aside. The source doesn't answer your research question, lacks sufficient credibility, or overlaps too much with stronger sources you've already found.

Setting a source aside is not a failure. In fact, it is one of the habits of efficient researchers. Every source you decide not to read carefully gives you more time to spend on the sources that will make the greatest contribution to your project.

Key Takeaways

• Finding sources is only the beginning. Effective researchers evaluate sources before investing significant time reading and annotating them.
• Begin by making an initial assessment. Preview the title, abstract, author, publisher, publication date, and references to determine whether a source deserves closer attention.
• Evaluate a source for both credibility and relevance. A highly credible source is only valuable if it helps answer your research question.
• Research requires making choices. Decide whether to read, save for later, or set aside each source based on its potential contribution to your project.
• Evaluating sources allows you to spend more time engaging deeply with the materials that matter most and less time pursuing unproductive detours.
• In the next chapter, you'll learn strategies for reading academic sources efficiently and purposefully once you've decided they are worth your attention.

Putting It Into Practice

Choose three sources from a search you recently conducted in the IVC Library or Google Scholar. Without reading the full text, make an initial assessment of each source by examining its title, abstract, author, publication information, date, and references (if available).

For each source, decide whether you would:

• Read because it appears relevant and credible.
• Save for Later because it may become useful as your research develops.
• Set It Aside because it is not a good fit for your research question or lacks sufficient credibility.

Write one or two sentences explaining the reasoning behind each decision. Remember that your goal is not simply to identify "good" or "bad" sources, but to determine whether each source is the right source for your project.