What to Look For

• Autobiographies, memoirs, eyewitness biographies
• Diaries, letters
• Famous speeches
• Gov’t publications, legal documents
• Physical items: photographs, sketches, maps, posters, tracts, political cartoons, broadsides
• Audio and video recordings, oral histories, interviews
• Contemporary newspapers and magazines
• Book of primary source material; long quotation in a modern book
• Records of an organization

Transcriptions are acceptable.

Magazines or newspapers
No works cited list, or cite just a few sources
Few or no concrete statistics
Author may be journalist, writer, or layperson
Everyday language
Include photographs or drawings, but no tables
Have a short or no abstract

Who wrote it? (author—are they an expert?)

Where did you find it (in a database, on the internet)

What did it say? (is it accurate, does it match other sources?)

Why did the author write it? (are they taking a side? selling ads?)

When was it published? (for most research, stay within the past 10 years for articles, even less for websites; is the information up to date—as the song says, “Istanbul, not Constantinople;” did COVID exist yet? was it written before 9/11?)

Determining Credibility

Decide if your source (article, website) meets these criteria:

Credible (who wrote it, where did you find it)?
Current (publication date, up to date statistics)?
Accurate (does it match information from other sources)?
Relevant (to your topic)?
Reliable (trustworthy source, no or few ads)?

Note: peer reviewed items meet all of these if you check for date and relevance.

Look at the example below. Is this a credible source?

Why was the website created? What is the creator hoping to accomplish?

Are both sides of the issue presented? Why or why not?

Read the “About Us” information—do they present themselves as a “non-biased information source” [ProCon.org], a “magazine of conservative opinion” [National Review], or something else?

Are you asked to join, provide an email address, or donate money to the organization?

Can't I just Google the information? What about Wikipedia? I found this great clip on YouTube! Can I use it?

Yes and no. The first thing to check is your syllabus or assignment...what are the parameters provided by your instructor? If you are allowed to use an open access (free, out there on the internet for everyone), you need to carefully evaluate the website and the information on it, using the criteria set forth here. Wikipedia is useful if you're making dinner and want to know what a courgette is, but should not be used for scholarly research. Why not? Anyone with an internet connection can contribute to or edit entries. As for that YouTube video, evaluate it as you would a website. If you are watching Ronald Reagan's speech as he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" then you likely can use it. Most famous speeches are also available in print. 

Finally, no matter where you get your information, be sure to cite your sources, and don't write them like this example!