- Determine the suitability and trustworthiness of a source
- Examine the criteria used in the CRAAP method
- Use the CRAAP method to analyze the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose of a source
- Explain how the four moves help evaluate information
- Evaluate websites using the four moves
- Describe the structure and purpose of an annotated bibliography
Types of Sources
In the last section, we defined popular sources as articles from magazines and newspapers. As you may have suspected, your research will not just include scholarly and popular articles. Research involves many different kinds of sources, including:
- Any literary work, including novels, plays, and poems.
- Breaking news.
- Diaries.
- Advertisements.
- Music and dance performances.
- Eyewitness accounts, including photographs and recorded interviews.
- Artworks.
- Data.
- Blog entries
- Artifacts such as tools, clothing, or other objects.
- Original documents such as tax returns, marriage licenses, and transcripts of trials.
- Websites.
- Buildings.
- Correspondence, including email.
- Records of organizations and government agencies.
Evaluating Sources
Looking at this list might be a bit overwhelming. How are you supposed to know how to know if, for example, a certain breaking news report is a credible source for your research? You can use methods like the four moves to help you evaluate sources to determine their credibility.
- STOP. Think critically. Avoid being too emotionally charged or looking for information that confirms your own biases. Have an open mind to consider new or controversial topics, and seek to understand.
- INVESTIGATE. Find out who the author is, why they wrote it, etc.
- FIND BETTER COVERAGE. Read laterally. Once you get to the source of a claim, read what other people say about the source.
- TRACE CLAIMS. Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original source
Let’s look at some examples together.